Down in Louisiana
by MX5
Summary: After Elwood returns to the USA, he picks up the threads of the life he left off. Melody and Alan have drifted apart, Mack joins up with the band, Buster comes along for the ride. During the journey down to Louisiana, Alan and Melody, though hostile at first, gradually begin to reconnect. Starts off just after Willie's gets torched and goes beyond what's in the movie.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I purposely left Cab out of my rendition of this story. He always seemed to be just thrown into the mix and he didn't add anything unique to the band, IMHO.

Chapter 1: The Gig

"What band?" Mack asked Elwood as the car bounced over an uneven section of the road. Buster yawned and lay down on the backseat, tired out from his exploits that day.

"I'll tell you more later about the band." Elwood spoke as he ran a red light. The singer decided it had been an up and down day for him, getting out of a new lower security prison, getting picked up the next day by one of his former drummer's dancer girls, and he was offered a job by his old drummer. The singer never thought that he'd made much of an impression on Willie to extend him a job offer, but evidentally age had mellowed out the drummer some. What had previously been a duo was now a single as Elwood knew that Jake had died almost 15 years ago. They said Jake had robbed a convenience store and a cop shot him dead, but Elwood knew that wasn't it at all. Nobody knew Jake like he did and he was convinced that there was more to the story than met the eye. Elwood had tried to make the Russian mafia leave Willie's club alone but they torched the place, and now they needed jobs. Privately, Elwood was amazed that Mack the bartender could sing so well. Mack had a rusty quality about his voice that if he used it just right, it was almost paralyzing to hear and quite pleasurable. Mack had the gravitas that Jake once did.

The blues brother pulled in at Mack's apartment across town. "The short story is Jake and I were raised on blues by an orphanage janitor named Curtis. He encouraged us to form a band and we toured for awhile, bringing the word of the blues around Illinois."

"Sounds interesting." they parked and Elwood picked Buster up and brought him to Mack's flat as the bartender unlocked the door. "Who was in the band?"

"Me, Jake, three horn players, three guitar players, Willie, and a piano player named Murph. Tomorrow I'm gonna start trackin' them down." he answered as he put Buster on the couch and Mack spread an afghan over the kid.

Mack's place was well furnished but sparse. The walls were done in a dark green which made Elwood think of the forest, but he disliked how close it felt to him. After years in a jail cell, Elwood thought he'd gotten over his claustrophobia, but was dismayed to find it still affected him. It had to be the colors, he decided. The blues brother took Mack's spare room, finding it offensive to his eyes, as it was painted a very dark shade of red, making him think of anger and fury.

"Goodnight, Elwood." Mack passed by on his way to his own room. Elwood determined that what Mack lacked in material things and comfort, he made up for in his personality. The bartender didn't really need much to make his life more comfortable and certainly wasn't accustomed to perks of any kind.

"Night, Mack." Elwood got ready for bed.

The next morning, all refreshed and ready to go, Elwood pulled out the yellow pages and started going through the last names, one by one. He found an advertisement for a radio show hosted by Dunn and Cropper, and he had an inkling he knew who they were.

"Come on Mack, Buster," he stood up. "we got us some recruiting to do."

Melody Calloway was on the phone in her office, dressed to the nines as usual. She was a secretary in a law firm now and was paid well for dealing with all sorts of clients. Her bosses, Stanley Katzenberg and Dorothy Andrews always insisted on her being dressed up to the point where she was uncomfortable and ready to start arguing. She didn't mind the fancy button up shirts nor the blazers she often wore, but she did so hate to wear heels. Oh well, looking professional was about 60 percent of the job.

"No sir, Mr. Katzenberg is in court today until about 4 PM. I can forward you to his voice mail if you like." she listened for a moment, then pressed the transfer button. The years had been kind to Melody with a small deepening of the lines around her face and a touch of gray at her temples. The secretary still often went on gigs for bands that wanted her technical expertise and she still liked freelancing for recording studios. Melody sighed, knowing that Elwood was abroad or traveling somewhere and he'd sent her maybe 2 postcards in the last 15 years. Jake's death really unhinged him and he stayed in Melody's apartment for weeks afterwards, trying to get a grip on himself. It wasn't until Melody suggested that he travel and see the world that he perked up. It seemed for the rest of the intervening years, Elwood did enjoy traveling a lot. She hoped he was happy wherever he was, checking out the local groups and tunes.

A screeching of car tires made her look up, inwardly wishing the racetrack was open that week, and she saw a Ford Crown Victoria powerslide into the parking lot. Two adults and one child, all dressed the same, got out and looked around as they slammed the doors.

"I'll be damned," Melody smoothed out her sleeveless bright blue top and checked her black skirt for anything clinging to it. "Elwood!" taking off the hands free phone headset from her ear, she put the answering service on, standing up. The firm was closed for the day and she walked over to the main entrance door, clicking away in her black pumps, she unlocked it and allowed the three to enter the main hall. Melody was just in catching up on paperwork so nobody would notice the three oddly clothed people she ushered in.

"Elwood!" Melody hugged him tightly. "It's been 15 years since I last saw you!" he seemed to have walked out of her thoughts and coalesced into the air around her as he hugged her back with a broad smile on his face. No matter what, he'd always been quite fond of Melody. She looked the same as ever to him.

"Same here," his voice was just how she remembered it. "Mel, this is Mack McTeer and Buster Blues, the newest members of the band."

Mack was a portly guy yet he still cut a great figure in the suit. Melody grinned at him and shook his hand warmly. "I hope you guys find it exciting on tour with us. I need some excitement." she shook hands with Buster as well, who looked pleased to be treated as an adult.

"How long you been here?" Elwood was eyeing the place with distaste. Melody knew he was seeing the posh furnishings in the waiting room, though despite their posh appearances, they had been bargains at a yard sale and were upholstered with a tacky rosebud printed fabric. The plants were wilting and though the unspoken rule was that Melody had to care for them, they were not in her job description and despite her lack of attention, a few of them had not died yet. Buster looked at a cactus and saw it had a flower on it as he walked around, taking in the place.

"Oh, about 3 years now. It's not much, but I still go out on gigs when I can to technical direct and I'm on call at the recording studios near here."

"Glad to see you haven't given up your roots. I can't recall the last time I saw you in a skirt." the Melody he knew did not like to wear skirts and heels. Perhaps she had changed some, but Elwood was very happy that her personality had not changed at all since the last time he saw her.

"They insist on it here. I can understand that, but I'm freakin' forced to wear skirts almost all the time." she grimaced at her black skirt. "This one's the only one that I like."

"You won't be forced to do that when you're back on the road with us." Mack grinned, immediately liking her. "Elwood's told me stories about you."

"The good stuff, I hope?" she teased, giving Elwood a playful light punch on one arm.

"He's been singing your praises."

"I like to hear that. Listen, it's Saturday and the office is closed. I had a morning meeting and I was just working on some paperwork. I'll meet you in the parking lot, I just have to lock up here, OK?"

"OK." the 3 waited by the Ford as Melody shut off the computer and locked up all the doors.

"She's pretty, Elwood." Buster watched as she tugged at the doors to make sure they were locked, then walked towards them briskly.

"She dated your trumpet player?" Mack had heard Elwood speak of Melody and Alan that morning when they were driving to get her. The singer had described Alan as difficult but nice when you got know him some and he hoped it would be that easy. If it wasn't, then he had other people to talk to in the band.

"Still is the last time I heard anything," Elwood smiled as she walked over to them, hearing her curse as she stepped in her pumps. Melody put down her tote bag and pulled out a pair of sandals, swapping the pumps for them and sighed in happiness as she no longer felt threatened by her own shoes. "So how are you and Mr. Fabulous getting along?"

"Um, he and I called it quits almost 8 years ago, El," her face darkened. "one night I came home after a late night gig to find that he moved out. Terribly rude if you ask me."

"That is too rude," Mack agreed. "if it bothers you to talk about it, don't feel like you have to."

"No, I will. You guys have a gig lined up yet?" her hair had been in a French braid that day, something she often liked to wear but now it was pulling on her head so she pulled the elastic out, shaking out her hair and letting it fall in curly ringlets, still a bit damp from that morning.

"We're meeting with Sline in a few hours to try to get something set up. I was hoping you'd know where to find Alan. Where's your Mustang?"

They started walking a few cars over where an Audi A6 gleamed in the sunlight. "I upgraded." she flicked the button on the key fob and it unlocked. Elwood admired the golden colored German engineered car as she threw her purse into it and shut the door. "This is my home phone number and I want you to call me after you get something set up. Anything's better than here. Alan works at the Hutchins and Peyton funeral home now as a funeral director."

"Do you two still talk?"

"No. What's there to say after he walked out on me?" a cloud seemed to pass in front of her face for a moment.

"Sorry," Elwood backtracked. "I'll call ya tomorrow."

"You damn well better." she beamed at him as she got into the golden monster and started it up.

"What now, Elwood?" they went to the Ford and got into it, following Melody out of the parking lot. Buster sat in the back again as Elwood signaled for a turn.

"We get Mr. Fabulous back." he said simply. "Don't bring Melody into it with him."

"Gotcha. Won't say a word." Mack promised.

At a phone kiosk in the city, Mack called the Hutchins and Peyton funeral home and found out that Alan was at a funeral in the Greengrove cemetery not far from where they were now. Elwood knew where that was and they rolled into the place, parking the car far enough away so that Alan couldn't see it. The trumpeter was attired in a black suit with a gray ascot, looking strangely British. Buster thought his hair reminded him of a skunk, but it was mostly white with some black in the middle, ending in a ponytail.

The three of them sneaked around to where Alan was walking and draped themselves in front of a monument nearby, their suits standing out so that Alan caught sight of them.

"Oh, God," Alan groaned as he walked over to them. "who's this guy? What's with the kid? Did Melody put you up to this?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Elwood said as soon as the questions stopped. "we're putting the band back together. This is Mack, our new lead vocalist."

"So Melody has nothing to do with this?" Buster wondered why he brought her up if they weren't dating anymore. The youngest brother kept quiet but eyed Alan through his shades. Mack sized up Alan in the same way and wondered about why Alan brought up Melody's name. She hadn't spoken of him very much, though when she did, it was with distaste and dislike. The new singer thought he detected something in Alan's eyes like longing, but being the new guy and not knowing the band, he forced himself not to draw conclusions.

Elwood decided to play coy. "Last I heard she was happily married. I don't know what you're on about." behind the stone, Mack stepped on his foot. Elwood bit his lip as Mack started to grind down hard on his foot and stopped, telling Elwood nonverbally not to lie.

"Is she?" Alan's face fell and the 3 knew that he was still carrying a torch for Melody. "Fine, I'll come with you."

Looking defeated, the trumpet player had a word with his assistants and climbed into the Ford. Buster shot a sideways glance at Alan and was trying to work through his impressions of the guy when Elwood was recognized at the funeral and gunfire started up all around them. Elwood, in a maneuver Melody would have been proud to see, pulled a neat handbrake turn and hightailed it out of the cemetery, spewing gravel from the rear tires.

"So how is Melody?" Alan looked like he regretted saying that the second it flew out of his lips. "Is she coming with us again?"

"Couldn't tell ya," Elwood flippantly replied. "she and I lost touch 15 years ago. All the info I got was secondhand mind you."

"Gossip." he understood.

"Unreliable." they dropped him off at the funeral home with a warning that they would call soon after their meeting with Sline.

Alan concluded his work and remembered the day when he left Melody, packing up his things and leaving. He had written her a note saying that he would be back from a tour in a few months and they could talk then, but when the two months came and went and nothing from his girl, he got depressed for a long time and had to force himself to seek help. He expected her to come after him on tour as she had previously whenever they had a little tiff, but she didn't do it that final time he left. The trumpeter had driven himself through the tour like a robot and when he came back to Calumet city, he looked for Melody's name in the phone book, wondering what she was doing those days, when he didn't find her name anywhere. Lou and Tom knew nothing about her, so Alan had to reluctantly give up. He couldn't bring himself to leave the city but he moved to the opposite end of it where he took classes to become a state certified mortician.

Heaving a sigh, he walked to his apartment a few blocks away and began to pack his possessions. A long time ago when they had been dating for a little more than a year, Melody had surprised him with a gift which he pulled out now. It was a trumpet mouthpiece that had engraving on the stem that said "Love always, Melody." Alan switched around the mouthpieces so he would be using hers on tour.

Their first night on the road all the band had been installed in their hotel rooms. Mack and Buster were watching TV and the others, it being about 11 at night, had already turned in. Elwood was fidgeting because Melody had not arrived yet. She had promised to be there and she would be, but when was another question altogether. Finally he perked up at hearing a car outside.

"Keep the change, pal!"

"That Mel?" Mack looked up from his card game with Buster.

"I sure as hell hope so." Elwood opened up his door and found her about to knock. "Come on in." Melody had a duffel bag and a proper suitcase which Buster took and put in the closet for her. The technical director looked like she had the first time Elwood had met her, a plain yellow camisole top and jean shorts with sneakers. Her hair was back in the familiar braid and she flashed Elwood a big smile as she watched Buster.

"That thing's almost as big as you are, kid." she remarked happily. "You got the kid trained well, Elwood!"

"Meh," Elwood shrugged as Mack started laughing. "time for bed, Buster." the kid made no complaint as he and Elwood went outside for a moment and only Elwood returned. Melody raised an eyebrow but did not question her old friend. Mack chuckled and the three adults sat down on one bed as Mack cleared away the card game.

"Why are you so late?"

"Had to train the temp replacing me," she made a face. "guy's thicker upstairs than anyone else I met. Complete dumbass. Then I got a cab to take me here and we hit all sorts of traffic in the city."

"If you'd been driving, you'd be here two hours sooner." Mack had heard about Melody's adventures in amateur racing from Elwood as they were driving to the hotel earlier. Alan had been with them in the car and his expression never changed.

Melody snorted with laughter. "If it had been me, I'd have put that car on a big lift kit so you could drive over other cars without a scratch!"

"Do you still race?"

"Yeah! I had to junk the old Golf TDI as it just was too expensive to keep fixing. I got me a nice BMW diesel for the racetrack now. I took second place at the old beach rally about 4 years in a row."

"So what have you been doing these past 15 years?"

"After Jake's death, Alan and I dated for a long time. We even moved in together and it was pretty great. I was there with him when his old man died and we took care of his estate and all that crap that comes with it. Let's see, we dated for 3 years, moved in and lived together for about 4 more years, then I decided I wanted an engagement at the very least, but after his dad died, something in him changed. Alan just got short tempered and abrupt, he would go on long gigs for months at a time and I never saw him. So after those 7 years of us being together, I get home one night to find he'd packed up and headed out. No note, nothing. Before that when he would be home, that was when I would schedule my tours as technical director so neither of us were home together. I kept thinking if he could do it, I could do it too."

"That's just mean," Mack whistled low. "did you ever find out why he left you?"

"No. I'm sure it's all moot point now anyway." Melody scowled inwardly. "I don't know what it was that made him treat me that badly, I did it to him, and he just upped and left. The guy just closed off to me."

"That blows," Elwood sympathized. "can you two be civil to each other now?"

"He agreed to come with us?"

"He did and we didn't mention you."

"Thanks, Mack. Yeah, I can be quite civil. Past is past, right?"

"Definitely."

"All right, let's hit the hay."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: On The Road Again

"If I may have your attention?" Elwood stood in front of a door at about 9 the next morning, directing the band to come to him. "I have something to show you."

He opened up the door and out stepped Melody, wearing jeans, sneakers, and a v-neck sleeveless pink shirt. "Call me a something again El, and I'll get ya!" the band exclaimed in surprise and welcomed Melody back with hugs, leaving Alan out of it. The trumpeter looked at her with an expression of longing hidden behind his shades and stood by Matt's Mercedes.

"Thanks, guys I missed you too!" she laughed. "Oh, Matt, nice car! I see I'm not in the German car club alone!" she threw her things into the Ford.

"Yeah? What kinda car you got?"

"Audi A6."

"Their cars are real nice. Still have your Mustang?"

"Nope. I had to junk it years ago. I blew the transmission and it was too expensive to replace."

"Was it just age that did it?"

"There might have been something about drag racing a Mazda Millennia..." Matt laughed and hugged her tightly.

"Glad to have you back again."

"Glad to be back again."

Melody slid into the Ford with Tom and Buster in the backseat. Elwood was accosted by an extremely fat man asking if they would hear his band play in the next lot, but Elwood politely declined and said that they had a schedule to stick to. Mack gave the man some encouragement and they were on their way.

"So Buster, tell me about yourself, hmm?" Melody asked, leaning on Tom with a broad grin on her face. He wrapped an arm around her and gave her a hug, grinning, and was delighted that she had not changed in all those years.

"Um, there's not much to tell," Buster was used to being quiet when the adults were talking. Even Elwood hadn't asked anything about himself yet. "The sisters told me I was dropped off at the orphanage when I was a few weeks old and that was it. My mom had been really poor and she couldn't afford to keep me, so she brought me in and dropped me off. My dad was a druggie and he didn't even know my mom had me. I don't know their names or anything else."

"It's probably best you don't go looking for that information, kid," Mack said gently from the front seat. "what matters is you're here now."

Buster gave Mack a grateful smile. "Thanks, Mack."

"What do you like to do, Buster? What are your hobbies? Do you like animals?"

"I do. We had a talking bird at the orphanage once and one of the kids taught it all kinds of swear words," everyone started laughing. "the nuns didn't like that, neither did they like it when the bird started making belching and farting noises!"

"I can imagine!" Melody chortled as she wiped a tear from her eye.

For the rest of the morning, Melody and Tom bantered with Buster until they got off at a rest stop to fill up the cars' gas tanks and their own tanks as well. The band took up 4 tables in a cafe the size of half a football field and Duck asked Melody what she had been doing the past 15 years.

"Not really that much." the horn section was a good ways over so Alan wouldn't overhear her. "I dated Alan for 7 years, he left me, then my dad and brothers moved from Florida to Wyoming and my dad was getting on in his age, so I spent 3 years with them out west. I came back to Calumet city when he died and my two brothers moved to opposite coasts. I did a few years full time touring with some popular acts but got sick of the arrogance that comes with that sort of thing. I took up secretarial work at a law firm and I still like to gig on and off."

"Not bad," Duck complimented her. "do you know what exactly happened between you two?"

"I couldn't tell ya, Duck. All I know is at the end of the 7 years he was touring and I was touring and since Alan's dad died he'd become really distant with me, I'd schedule my gigs when he was done with his so we weren't home together anymore. Quite frankly I'd had better conversations with a brick wall." Matt and Steve chuckled, stealing furtive glances at the trumpet player, who had been talking with Lou.

"That's Alan for you." Steve remarked. "If he's got something on his mind and you can't draw it out of him, he'll go nuts."

"If nuts is growing a ponytail, then Alan is looking at nuts in the rearview mirror." Matt started giggling. Melody nearly choked and ducked her head down so nobody else saw her cracking up.

"Still, it sounds like one of those mid life crisis things and he didn't know what he wanted anymore." Steve had seen many men go through it, though he himself never had.

"I'm not inclined to speculate on it, boys." they finished up and walked around a little bit to loosen up their legs and get a little exercise in.

"Know what Lou told me last night?" the 4 of them sat outside at a round picnic table.

"What, Steve?"

"Well, Lou said that Alan told him that he hoped you'd be coming on this tour with us. Lou thinks that he's been pining for you."

Melody didn't quite know how to handle that information. "I don't know if this is good or bad. We had a great run, but he ended it and I took that as the official word it was over."

"Yeah, but I kind of think he wanted you to come after him," Duck told her gently. "sometimes people do that for attention."

"Crazy," she muttered. "I was never good at handling relationships anyway."

"So let's picture it like this: Alan left you, he wanted you to come after him and ask him why, then you could have had a nice heart to heart chat and mend things up to how they used to be," Matt supplied. "but you didn't, he might have gotten depressed over that and didn't know what else to do. Then he hears you were in Wyoming and automatically thinks you got married and moved out there. Where does that leave him? Sad because he thinks you didn't care about him enough to come after him and talk."

"So he saw you today and didn't know what to think or say so he didn't do anything at all." Duck finished off.

"This is all supposition but suppose you're right? What happens next?"

"I think your instinct will guide you. You can always have Elwood put you in the same room with Alan like Jake used to."

"Oh boy, there's something to think about any way," Melody humored them. "so anyone know where Elwood went after Jake died?"

"Your guess is as good as ours."

"I'll ask him that tonight." Melody stood up as she saw everyone leave the cafe.

Nobody said much in the car on the afternoon drive. Buster was a little tired so Melody let him sleep on her lap while Tom chatted with Mack for a little while. Thinking about her relationship with Alan, she remembered the time when they were living together and he'd gotten the news that his father had died.

A ringing sound jerked both of them out of their slumber and Alan reached over and grasped the phone with his right hand. "Yeah?" he asked sleepily, trying not to disturb his girlfriend. "Yeah, he's my dad. What? OK thanks, goodbye." he hung up, the shock rendering him numb for a long moment, then it sank in. "Oh god!" he sat up, buried his face in his hands and sobbed. Melody gave him a few moments to himself then turned to face him.

"Alan?"

"Go back to sleep, Mel."

"I couldn't. Not when you're so upset. What is it?" she had a good guess what it was. Sitting upright, she rubbed his back and gave him comforting words while he composed himself enough to tell her what had gone on. Melody embraced him and let him grieve as long as he needed. Putting her mind on autopilot, she soothed him when she sensed he'd worn himself out. She tidied up her boyfriend the best she could, making sure that he went back to sleep. It was around 6 AM when he got the news and about 8 AM when she got up for the day. Melody knew that Alan didn't want to deal with all the arrangements that had to be made, as he was an only child, so she set herself up to take care of everything.

When Alan woke up again, he found that Melody had booked two tickets to Florida, was packing up their things as needed, and was waiting for a callback about a memorial service at a church.

"You're amazing, Mel." he kissed her on the cheek. "When do we go?"

"In 2 hours." she zipped up a duffel bag and gave him a slow smile. "Try to relax the best you can."

"It won't be easy."

Once they got to Florida, Alan had to play his part in setting aside the clothes to be put on the body for burial, arranging for all his father's friends and relatives to come, checking for a burial plot, buying the casket and vault. Melody arranged for the memorial and graveside services, helped Alan buy the monument and get it inscribed correctly. She hadn't met Alan's father and though she went to the services, it was a gesture of support to Alan than anything else.

For the next few weeks, they took care of packing up the estate, having the consignment shop go through the house and buy what they wanted, then they put the house up for sale. Alan and Melody came back to Calumet city shortly afterwards.

Alan fell into a depression of sorts, not being able to have any fun, pleasures of the past bored him, and Melody had to watch him sink further into himself. One night she'd had enough of his depressive moping and read him the riot act, telling him she'd made an appointment with a shrink that he was going to, even if she had to tie him up and drag him along. Mercifully he did agree, both went, and Alan was diagnosed with depression. Medicine was prescribed along with more visits to check his emotional status, and after a few months of treatment, he was well on the road to recovery. The trumpeter resumed his passions, was more affectionate with Melody than before, and she in turn fell deeper in love with him.

One night long ago he had presented her with a special gift as a way to say thanks for all she had helped him through in that turbulent year. It was a plain silver ring with an inscription on it, "Forever yours, love Alan." Melody pursed her lip as she ran her finger over the silver band that she still wore regularly on her left middle finger. It was a reminder of the great relationship they had in the past and Melody reflected on the good times whenever she had a minute.

"Mel?"

"Huh?"

"Come on. Suppertime." Tom told her as they got out of the car.

In Bob's Country Kitchen, the new trio of blues brothers were in the bathrooms while the rest of the band tucked in to supper. Melody sat with Lou and Willie as the others chattered around them.

"I went on tour with Alan shortly after you guys broke up," Lou adjusted his voice slightly. It wasn't likely that Alan would overhear but he wasn't taking any chances. "he was crushed you didn't come after him."

Melody sighed. "I know I committed a serious social error," she admitted. "honestly, I'd think that no note means that he didn't want anything else to do with me."

"He says he left you one."

"I never found one."

"Huh. I'll have to tell him that. Anyway, I'm not trying to blame you for anything. If you wanted some...closure that he was miserable without you, then I can tell you that he definitely was. He looked like a lost boy without you. He seemed to snap out of it after a bit, but still."

"Um, that's OK."

"He was convinced for a time that you met a new lover and ran off with him. When Murph here told him that you had left for Wyoming, he told us that you must have met someone new." Willie watched as Melody gazed out the window for a minute.

"I suppose it might be natural for him to think that. I had to move out there for a few years because my father was ailing and my brothers needed me," she sighed. "he died, my brothers moved on, and I was there to help Alan through his dad's death, but he wasn't there for me." Lou and Willie did not fail to note the bitterness in her tone. "Did Alan even know that I moved back to Calumet city?"

"I think he lost touch with almost everyone in the band in the past 5 years when he became a mortician." Lou reasoned. "He was never big on rehashing the past anyway."

"Tell me about it. But anyway, how has he been otherwise?"

"The same as usual. Polite yet cranky. He's never dated since you."

"Oh, is this a fact?"

"Yes. He's turned down several females since you. Alan went into the mortician field because he'd deal with people in grievance and all of that and there was no chance of him landing a date, etc. He still plays the horn mind you, but discourages female company."

"I left a legacy it seems." Melody took a drink as Elwood peered out of the restroom door and turned back. A state trooper came in, questioning the band on who owned the Ford Crown Victoria outside.

"Why are the cops looking for Elwood?"

Willie leaned in closer. "He got some of the Russian mafia drunk when they came to demand a payment from me. The mobsters like to hit on the strip clubs for female companionship and I had no choice but to pay 'em off after one of my dancers upset one of them. I had to pay them and they left me alone, but Elwood started in at my joint as a singer, he got the men drunk and left them in an alley somewhere. The Russians came and torched my club. I also heard that Elwood and Buster stole about five hundred bucks from some cop to get the Ford."

"Right. I'm hoping we don't get implicated in this."

"I'm glad we met Mack and Buster. I think with you doing songs like you used to, we have a more universal appeal." Lou turned briefly to hear Buster yelling.

"RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" the kid sprinted out the door and Mack followed, yelling something that they couldn't quite understand. Elwood followed, shaving cream plastered thickly on his face. Melody quickly hid a smile behind her hand as her friend ejected a spout of the cream into the air, stumbling for the door and causing a ruckus. The state trooper went after them so Melody could smile freely as the others turned blase looks back to each other and their suppers.

"Nobody ever said that Elwood didn't have any imagination." Lou giggled along with her. Clouds of dust rose up outside and they peered out the window to see the Ford turning donuts in the driveway.

"That's not good." Melody glared out the window but knew Elwood wasn't going to be able to see her.

"No?"

"Nope. I tried something like that in a big car based on the Crown Vic platform. I think the steering will lock up and the car's suspension is going to crack. A car that size has a lot of stress on it if you try to be funny. Other crap can happen to it as well. If it's mechanical, it's fallible."

"So should we expect a distress call from them down the road that the car shit the bed?"

"I hope not, Willie. I really hope not." the car stopped spinning around and took off.

Everyone managed to squeeze into Matt's Mercedes and head out for a few more hours of driving until they reached the hotel in Kentucky. Melody roomed with Willie and Murph while the horn section and the guitar section had group rooms as well. They gossiped a little bit until 11 rolled around and the men went to bed. Melody was feeling restless and wanted to do something a bit crazy. There weren't any racetracks around and she didn't have her jumpsuit or racing gear anyway. She looked out the window and spied a lounge and bar across the street.

A bar there would also have a karaoke bar, she reasoned to herself. An idea flashed in her mind and she changed her clothes with a grin on her face.

When she set foot in the establishment, Melody looked very different from what she usually wore. She had on a black shirt with a black skirt, tights, and pumps. The skirt had been pulled up until it reached only halfway down her thighs, the shirt's tails had been tied just under her bust, and her hair was in a ponytail. Men barked and whistled at her as she crossed over to the bar and got a drink, trying to build up a buzz for what she was going to do.

It only took about ten minutes for her to get to the buzz level that she wanted, slid off the bar stool and went up onstage, grabbing the karaoke mike and setting the machine to play a song that she loved called Buttons by the Pussycat Dolls.

"Typical, hardly the type of man I fall for

Wanna get physical, don't leave me asking for more

I'm a sexy mama

Who knows how to get what I wanna

Do is spring this on ya

Back up all the things that I told ya

"You been sayin' all the right things all along

But I can't seem to get you over here to help take this off," she stripped off her shirt, revealing a black and white lacy bra as the men catcalled. Melody giggled, doing a few turns so her well-muscled physique was accentuated. Periodic gym trips had kept her in shape and gave her the definition that she wanted.

"Baby can't you see

These clothes are fitting on me?

The heat coming from this beat?

I'm about to blow

I don't think you know." Melody did a few moves she had picked up from a dance class she'd taken a month ago.

"I'm tellin' ya to loosen up my buttons, babe

But you keep frontin'

Saying what you gonna do to me

But I ain't seen nothing." she repeated the chorus and did a few more suggestive moves.

"You say you're a big boy

But I can't agree

'Cause the love you said you had

Ain't been put on me

I wonder if I'm too much for you

Wonder, my kiss don't make you just

Wonder what I got next for you

Whatcha wanna do?

"Take a chance to recognize

That this could be yours

I can see just like most guys

That your game don't please

Baby can't you see

These clothes are fitting on me?

The heat coming from this beat?

I'm about to blow

I don't think you know!"

The music sped up a bit so Melody remembered an old routine from her dance class and adapted it to the music, giving some random guy a little lap dance. She finished off the song and tied her shirt around her waist by the sleeves.

"Thanks and goodnight!" she left, feeling very happy with what she had done. The singer pulled her skirt back down to a comfortable length and since it was warm outside, she kept her shirt off. Melody had a great figure and she didn't show it often enough. They were just a few hours away from the gig and driving that morning would bring them to the fairgrounds and leave them plenty of time for setup the next night. Melody exhaled, enjoying the evening air and quiet streets which were very different from Calumet city. She felt safer in that small town, even if she just emerged from a bar and lounge. A car passed by and gave her a friendly wave which she returned. Crossing the street she attracted a few catcalls from a few transients at a bus stop, then entered the hotel. The night clerk on duty nodded to her as she walked across the lobby and over to the left wing of the building where their rooms were.

Jabbing at the hotel elevator button, the bell rang and the doors opened up. She took her hair down from the ponytail, wrapping the elastic around her wrist as she strode inside the elevator.

"Oh." Alan was right there holding a backpack.

"Mel?" he was incredulous at her appearance. "You take up hooker duties or something?"

"I haven't been able to get any since you," she shot at him. "anyway, I went and did something that I wanted to." he pressed the button and the door closed.

A few moments of awkward silence passed before Alan asked. "Didn't you get my note?"

"Nope. I never saw one." she just barely managed to keep the bitterness out of her tone.

"Funny. I left you one."

"Moot point now, Alan. You're obviously happy without me so I'm not intruding." they walked out into the hall.

"I am not happy without you!" he protested. "I missed you! I tried to find out where you were all these years!"

"You burned me, Alan," Melody unlocked her door but turned to face him. "what you did to me I couldn't forget for the longest time!" she sighed. "I might as well straight out tell you that after you left, my father died, and I damn near gave in to my depression."

"You mean that you almost committed-"

"Yes. I was convinced that nobody would love me like you did and life wasn't worth it without you." his jaw nearly fell open. "Next time you decide to abandon a girl, you at least need to talk to them first!"

Alan didn't know what to say so he made to take her hand but she pulled away from him. "No. You've made your choice and it's not me. I'll not have you getting my hopes up again and then crushing them down-again."

He reacted like she'd taken a cattle prod to his arm and drew back, stunned. "I just wanted to-"

"I know, but you made your choice a long time ago and there's no claim for me." she went into the room without another word. Still stunned, he went to his room and sat on the edge of the bed, throwing his backpack into the tiny closet. Lou and Tom were sound asleep and didn't notice his entry. Alan put his face in his hands, processing what Melody had just told him. In his mind's eye he could see it, her on the floor, leaning against the edge of the bed, looking devastated but certain that her pain would come to an end. He forced that image out of his head before it went any further and changed for bed, but it was a long time before he fell asleep.

In the room with Willie and Murph, Melody thought about her depressive episode where it nearly killed her, and she had to wipe away a few tears that came into her eyes.

WARNING: SUICIDE ATTEMPT AHEAD

Melody was sitting in the living room, watching the rain come down from the clouds. Alan had been gone for a few months and she had not wanted to believe that he would not return, but every day it was looking more and more likely she would still be alone. Seven years had come and gone, yet she was still alone. Melody had been used to being alone for years, but since Alan had come into her life, she had quite enjoyed having someone to share her life with. It had been a mutual feeling with him and they never needed to voice it in words.

She gazed at the couch where she had crashed so many times after getting in around 2 in the morning, not wanting to disturb Alan while he slept. Many was the time when she'd wake up to find him near her, the TV turned down low so it didn't disturb her. Alan had been her comfort, a source of pride that he'd picked her and he hadn't been wrong about her at that time. They'd nursed each other through illness, particularly when Melody had a bad case of strep. That illness had been a bit frightening, as it had a good hold on her and didn't want to quit but eventually it had.

Now she was alone, a five letter word she hated. Melody turned off the TV and went into the kitchen, drawing the shades down. She picked up several expired medication bottles and sat down on the couch, imbibing several of each. When she felt herself starting to lose her senses, she made a call so the EMTs would know where she was, bag her and take her away. The singer released her conscious mind and sank into the sweet and welcoming oblivion.

It was a few days later when she woke up, feeling extremely ill and wondering what had gone wrong. She was supposed to be asleep under the grass but there she was, feeling like death warmed over. A nurse told her that someone had come into the apartment to get something, found her on the floor, and had been trying to rouse her when help had arrived. Melody demanded to know who the person was or what they looked like, but nobody could tell her anything. Because she had taken so many drugs the doctors had to send her into a medically induced coma to purge all the toxins from her blood.

There were no clues otherwise to her rescuer and even though Melody was sick from a staph infection, a single flower bundle had come to her from the gift shop downstairs. No name, nothing, but she admired the gift, offering up thanks to God that someone had been looking after her.

After her infection healed, she went back to the apartment, got a call from one of her brothers who said they needed her help in caring for their ill father, so she packed up and left Calumet city.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Riders

Arriving at the fairground and setting up was an easy thing. Alan tried to get Melody by herself so they could chat, but she was very busy. Murph's keyboard had a short circuit so she was stuck fixing that for at least 2 hours before showtime. She remained off stage at a workbench, cursing as she tried to resolder connections on a circuit.

Unsure of how the singers would arrive, the band agreed that Melody could entertain them if they didn't show up in time. She was the backup and usually ran interference for them if need be. At the moment, she was cursing and trying not to burn her fingers with the soldering iron as she tried to solder a connection across the circuit board. Alan was watching her from a distance, trying to be discreet. He was still reeling from her proclamation last night, second guessing himself from back then and wondering if he'd underestimated her. From her appearance that past night, it was apparent that he'd overestimated her completely. He thought she would come after him, she didn't. He never thought she'd have the courage to sing to complete strangers half naked, she did. They had been apart for 8 years and they had both been doing some more growing up in the meantime.

"Thinkin' about her again?" Lou picked up his sax and clipped it to the neck strap.

"I have been every day for the past 8 years, wondering if she's been happy."

"Has she?"

"Nope."

"Have you?"

"No."

"Then what's stopping you?"

"That I don't know. I had a brief conversation with her in the hall last night when she walked in looking like a hooker."

"Really?"

"Yeah. She had this black getup on and her shirt was tied around her waist."

"Think she was out doing that?"

"I don't think so. She took a few shots at me, told me a few things and that was it. Mel's not ready to admit me back in her life."

"Do you think that a simple apology would do the trick?"

"For all the hell she's been through because of me?"

Lou shrugged benignly. "It's a start, don't you think?"

"Good point."

Neither one of them had the time to think about it any more, as Elwood, Mack and Buster appeared in a flaming car. After it was put out, the three dusted themselves off and took the stage. Melody took her usual spot next to Lou to provide the vocals while the band attired themselves in ludicrous hats and long Amish looking beards.

"Bluegrass." Elwood looked over at his bass player.

"Riders." Mack told him.

"Duck, mountain tempo in A minor."

"An old cowpoke went ridin' out one dark and windy day,  
Upon a ridge he rested as he went along his way  
When all at once a mighty herd of red eyed cows he saw  
Come rushin' through the ragged skies and up a cloudy draw.

"Yippie aye yay, yippie aye oh  
Ghost riders in the sky

"Their brands were still on fire and their hooves were made of steel  
Their horns were black and shiny and their hot breath you could feel  
A bolt of fear went through him as they thundered through the sky  
He saw the riders coming hard and he heard their mournful cry

"Yippie aye yay, yippie aye oh  
Ghost riders in the sky.

"Their faces gaunt, their eyes were blurred, their shirts all soaked  
with sweat  
They're ridin' hard to catch that herd but they 'aint caught 'em yet  
'Cause they've got to ride forever in the range up in the sky  
On horses snorting fire as they ride hard hear them cry

"Yippie aye yay, yippie aye oh  
Ghost riders in the sky.

"The riders leaned on by him he heard one call his name  
If you want to save your soul from hell a-riding on our range  
Then cowboy change your ways today or with us you will ride  
Tryin' to catch this devil herd across these endless  
skies.

"Yippie aye yay, yippie aye oh  
Ghost riders in the sky!"

"Everyone into the Bluesmobile!" Elwood cried as the rain poured down and thunder roared. The musicians and Melody ditched what they were doing and plunged off the stage, diving into the car like their lives depended on it. Most of the band got in back but Lou got in front beside Elwood with Buster on his lap. Melody ended up in Mack's lap in the shotgun seat.

"Great," Willie grumbled. "I get to ride to Louisiana up here against the back windshield!"

Everyone else didn't dignify him with a response. It was only about 10 PM so Elwood settled in for an hour or two of driving. At about midnight, he was tired as well as everyone else, so they pulled into a secluded rest stop to try to get their bearings. Mack pulled out a map and discussed with Elwood their course of action to take to get to Louisiana.

"Hey Mel, you miss me?" Buster tugged at her hand and she embraced him. "I guess so, huh?"

"You'll never know how much." she laughed.

"All right, I think that about covers it." Elwood called her and Buster to him and Mack. "I need a break from driving, Mel. How tired are you feeling?"

"Not bad. I can handle a drive for a few hours." Melody was used to being up half the night, it was just the way she was wired.

"OK, you drive for a few hours, then Mack will drive."

"All right, deal."

"When you stop to fill up, remember this car takes about ten gallons."

"Right." Melody turned to the band. "All aboard!" with a lot of grumbling, the band got into the car again and Elwood had to jockey for position with Mack on the passenger seat. The only female in the band turned the car on and shifted it into gear, accelerating down the road. She let her thoughts drift a bit as the monotony of driving sank in. Inwardly she was wondering who it had been that saved her all those years ago but she didn't suppose that she'd ever find out.

Alan watched her for a long moment, noticing a faint glint from her left hand. So she still had the ring he'd given her. The trumpeter frowned in annoyance as most of the others were asleep but he wasn't feeling very sleepy just yet. The cacophony of snoring and grumbling was irritating him a bit but that would wane in time.

He hoped he'd acted convincingly the previous night when Melody revealed to him that she'd been on the brink of suicide once after he'd left her. Wondering just how much she knew of her own attempt, he knew that she didn't know it had been him who'd come into the apartment looking for something and found her lying on the couch. At first he thought she was just asleep and he could slip in and out unnoticed, but something told him to look closer at her. The medicine bottles gave him the first clue as he sat down on the edge of the couch and tried to wake her up, but she did not rouse. Checking the pulse in her wrist revealed that it was going far too fast and he was about to call for help when it arrived. The EMTs took her away amid mutterings about her possibly going into cardiac arrest but to his knowledge, it never happened.

That next day Alan had come in to see Melody and talk with the doctor, swearing the doctor to secrecy about him being there. The doctor heeded his concerns, telling him that Melody was going to be kept asleep for the next few days to minimize the damage by the various meds she took. A few days later when Melody had been awakened, Alan had sent her flowers but kept his name out of it. From a distance, he kept a remote eye on her until she left for Wyoming.

In the hurry of that night, Alan had managed to save the engraved mouthpiece for his trumpet, unwilling to leave his sentimental keepsake behind. He watched Melody drive for a few minutes before he became drowsy.

Melody didn't bother to stop and shift positions with Mack, instead preferring to drive until practically first light. She held out until it was 6 AM when most of the car was awake. Elwood woke up and cursed, telling her to pull over so he could take the wheel again. They switched positions, with Melody falling asleep in Mack's lap.

"Cute when she sleeps, Elwood." Mack fondly tucked a strand of her hair out of her face. He hadn't known her very long, but what he saw of her attitude and personality he quite liked.

"Yup." Elwood agreed, remembering when Alan had said that 15 years ago.

The car drove along until sometime before 11 AM when it ran out of gas. Mack had to wake Melody up and bring her out of the car, telling her that the car was bone dry. "No, she can't be. I filled her up with gas less than half an hour ago." Elwood protested. "Look." he walked to the back of the car and kicked the gas tank which produced a sloshing sound.

"Mel, you're the car expert here," Matt spoke up. "what do you think?"

She crossed her arms and leaned back on the car. "Pop the hood will you, Elwood?" he did so and she leaned in, taking a look. "Oh, I didn't think that would happen."

"What?"

"As a result of all those shenanigans in the car, pulling donuts and the like, you managed to snap the radiator bracket and crack the hard plastic ring that connects the hose to the radiator," Melody announced, wiping her hands off on a tissue. "a part of the radiator is dragging on the ground. I can fix it but it'll be awhile."

"So we start walkin'."

"What's the point?" Alan tossed up his hands, inviting the other bandmembers to share in the mutiny. Elwood didn't give much of a motivational speech and Mack was still relatively new to the band and didn't know what to say. He was along for the ride like Buster was and even Melody didn't say anything. She leaned against the car and picked up a tool bundle Elwood had given her earlier.

"So how you gonna fix this?" Mack inquired as Buster went after Elwood.

"I have to wait until the car cools down and I use this temporary plastic sealer around the plastic ring, and I'll need to rig up a crossbar that can take the weight of the radiator and keep it off the ground. If the radiator goes, it's game over."

"Right." Mack didn't need to hear that. They looked up as Elwood came in reenergized, delivering a long soliloquy on the blues that none of the bandmembers really listened to, but in the end they decided walking would be more easy than listening to him ramble on again. Lou chose to stay behind and help Melody out, so they agreed to meet up later on.

"So Lou, how's your life been treating you?" Melody asked half an hour later as they stripped the bark off a stout branch of an oak tree. Borrowing Lou's pocketknife, she trimmed and tapered it down, putting it on a strategic position where it could take the weight of the radiator and not be a hazard to the engine. There was an old timing belt in the trunk that Melody had scraped down and slung it under the radiator and slipped it over the oak branch. She drew up the slack of the timing belt and bound together the excess with electrical tape. By some miracle, the radiator wasn't leaking at all.

"Not bad. After I got back to Calumet city when Jake was busted, I got married and a few years later I had a family."

"Oh, nice. Tell me more." she accepted his hand up and wiped her brow, as it was getting warm outside.

"Well, my eldest son Zack is 18 now, my daughters Sadie and Maxine are 17 and 14."

"Do they look like you?"

"Zack has my hair, Sadie has my eyes, Max has my temperament!" he chuckled. "I'm still not sure if that's good or bad!"

"Uh-oh!" Melody joked, taking the patch kit and opening it up. She shook up the can of sealer, dabbed the plastic patch all around the ring, then sprayed the sealer on it. "Let that harden for a few minutes." she kept the hood up to get air into the engine and cool it off as well.

"So I don't think you and Alan had any kids or anything like that?"

"Nah. Neither one of us are really the parent type of material."

"You two had some good times, I hope?"

"Oh hell yes. Alan's a city boy and I convinced him to go camping with me once. He hated it."

"Really? It's not that bad!"

"To him it was. Alan didn't like to sleep outside in the first place. I'd been camping all my life and he wouldn't stop calling me nature girl for about a week after the fact!" Melody laughed, remembering Alan's disgust with tenting in general. She'd persuaded him to try boating with her, they went for nature walks, visited a horse farm, that kind of thing. It was only 2 days but to Melody, she could have been there all week. The campground had an amusement center, an arcade, a pool if you weren't into swimming in a lake, and a billiard hall. Alan took to playing pool easily and he began to hustle people while Melody made friends outside. On the morning of their departure, Alan found Melody taking an early morning swim stark naked and though reticent, he was persuaded to join her. A long makeout session later, Melody had introduced him to what she called sex on the water in the speedboat she'd rented. Alan wasn't very enthralled with the whole idea but he tolerated her whims.

They gossiped for a few more minutes until Melody tested the seal and found it hardened enough.

"Let's go get the boys." she climbed in behind the wheel and drove down the road.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Louisiana

"Come on!" Elwood and the band dived into the car as Melody drove it through the revival tent in a heroic maneuver, cutting the cops off from the band. She slid aside onto Mack's lap as Buster got onto Lou's lap and Elwood slid behind the wheel. He slammed the car into reverse and executed a neat J-turn right out of the tent and onto the main drag. They were chased down the main strip and Lou pointed out a road closed due to construction straight ahead.

The band gasped and covered their eyes. "Melody?"

"Center the wheel and floor it with everything you got!" she screamed. With any luck, the car would clear the ditch and land on the other side without a problem, but Melody was hoping that the radiator didn't snap completely. The Ford cleared the ditch and the car landed with a thump but didn't seem the worse for wear because of the jump. Melody exhaled slowly, shooting a glance at Elwood as Buster clutched at her. She hugged the kid briefly and peered over at her long time friend. "Good work, Elwood."

"Thanks." they passed the state line and entered Louisiana.

Stopping off at a cafe for lunch, everyone was reluctant to get back inside the car, but renting one would be out of the question now. The transaction required a credit card and nobody wanted to hand over their personal information so they could be tracked with it. By now the cops would be sniffing around and checking their credit histories and personal checks. Melody personally felt hunted, but after so many years of the regular life, she'd take it.

"So Mel, how's it going now?" Alan sidled up to her and she felt mellow enough to be civil.

"Better," she replied. "I'm glad my repairs held up so nicely."

"I was thinking the radiator thing was like what happened to you in the Mustang, remember?"

She did remember. A psychopath had been hunting her down, cut her brakes, and she'd had an accident which busted the radiator cleanly apart. "Far too well."

Alan chuckled. "I damn near shit my pants when I saw you hit that tree."

"Ugh."

"Something on your mind?"

"Well, yes. It's not about you. Remember when you first got the news that Jake was dead?"

"Yeah?"

"Did they tell you how he died?"

"Nobody said anything. It was thought that he robbed a store."

Melody bit her lip. "It wasn't that at all, Alan. He died protecting me."

"How? What?"

"Jake and I were taking a walk one night and we were discussing Elwood, as he had the flu and had to be in the hospital for it if you remember it right."

"Yup."

"Jake had been talking about how he was going straight and how concerned he was about Elwood because he wasn't responding to treatment like he should have. He and I happened upon a robbery in progress in a convenience store and he tried to disarm the guy while telling me to run, but the robber's accomplice knocked me out cold and I remember next waking up in the emergency room triage and being told that Jake was dead."

"Damn!" Alan swore. "So that's why you were late to his funeral."

"Yes indeed. I had a grief counseling appointment that ran over and I'd just been let out of the hospital that morning."

"I had no idea. Mel, I want to say that I'm sorry. For everything."

Melody looked into his eyes like she was searching their depths for a long moment. "For being you?"

"Yes, damnit. For being a man, for being me!" they exchanged a laugh. "I truly missed you and I want to start over again."

"Clean slate?"

"Indeed."

"I need to think about it." she said seriously as Alan pecked her on the cheek.

"That's all I can ask." he made a mental note to tell her what had happened to her during her suicide attempt later on after they auditioned for wherever the hell they were going.

Elwood had always been so sure that Jake hadn't died being a criminal to the last. Melody knew he hadn't, but she didn't want to tell Elwood as she didn't know what that would to do him. Would he blame her for Jake's death? Would he say that it sounded like Melody had put Jake in the line of fire herself? It had been easy to ignore the niggling at the back of her mind until that day, but she didn't exactly know what to do.

At a gas station, Buster sidled up to Melody as they sat on a picnic bench. The youngest of the band had a surprisingly keen insight into the people around him, something he might have gotten growing up in an orphanage. Jake had been like that as well. Melody was sitting on the picnic table top, her feet on the bench, watching as Elwood and Murph chattered as they filled up the car.

"Somethin' on your mind?"

Melody sighed and gave Buster a little smile. "Intuitive, aren't you?"

"Huh?"

"You have what Jake had, Buster. You see things and you know things that nobody tells you."

"That's what Elwood told me once."

"He speaks the truth."

"So what's up?"

"I have to tell Elwood about Jake. It isn't bad, but I worry about his reaction to it."

"Can you tell me?"

"I think I'd better tell everyone. Alan already knows of course."

"Are you two dating again?"

"Buster!" Melody giggled. "Neither of us know just yet. I think we need a chat tonight and see how it goes."

"So when are you going to tell the rest of the band?"

"When we're on the road again," she answered, standing up. Elwood beckoned to them and they got into the car. Alan didn't exactly like the thought of Melody sitting on Mack's lap but he wasn't going to say anything, as Melody would think they were back together again and neither one of them knew for sure whether they were together or not. He sighed. It was all in the details no matter how hard you'd look at it.

"OK guys, I have a confession to make." Melody announced about five minutes later. "It's about Jake."

"What is it?" Mack encouraged her.

"I know you all think that Jake was shot robbing a store, but that's not what happened at all." Elwood nearly drove off the road. "Jake and I were talking and walking down to the corner store late one night because he wanted to get Elwood, as you remember he was quite sick at the time, some get well trinket. We were very chatty that night, giggling around and talking like usual when we heard glass shattering, screams, gunfire. Jake and I took off to the scene and called the cops. He tried to force me away while he took the gunner down, I told him he was nuts to think he could do something like that. He saw it as a means to solidify his going straight, swoop in like a hero and save the day. He always had that kind of mentality. Anyway, what happened next is pretty fuzzy in my mind, but from what the cop said, the gunman had an accomplice and knocked me out, Jake crouched over me and told the gunner's accomplice that if the guy tried anything else he'd have to do it to him first. The accomplice just laughed and asked him if he was my bodyguard, Jake said he was, and then he shot him. Jake died protecting me from harm."

"Damn," Tom supplied. "what happened when you woke up?"

"I was in the emergency room with a doctor looking me over," Melody's tone became quieter. "he told me I had one hell of a friend who defended me to the very end. I had a nasty head wound and people like that do not take bad news well. I was told Jake had died, then the doctor sedated me before I could let it sink in. He was afraid I'd act out, get pissed and cause further damage to my head, so his concern was warranted. I woke up the next morning really disoriented, then I remembered, and asked for a grief counselor. The session went over, I was discharged, and I went straight to the church from there."

"So Jake died a hero which he always wanted to be." Elwood summed it up perfectly.

"He was my hero, Elwood." Melody forced back tears as Buster gave her his hand. "He believed in me and died protecting me."

"He was always fond of you, Melody," Willie supplied from the back. "Jake always went on about what an expert you were at fixing things we numbskulls kept breakin'."

"We know the rest of the story," Elwood signaled for a turn as it grew darker outside. "he died being the hero to our Melody."

"Yeah and he easily could have stepped aside and let that bullet hit me." she shuddered.

"Jake would never have done that," Elwood reached over and touched her shoulder. "if there was a choice and there was, Jake would put himself first to save everyone else. I always told him he had a bit of a hero complex."

"I'm glad you don't hold it against me, Elwood."

"How could I? You confirmed my suspicions over the past years. I knew the cops weren't tellin' me everything."

"Elwood, we've been dyin' to know, where have you been over the years?" Steve spoke up, wanting to get the subject on happier turf.

"Everywhere," he said simply. "I went to Thailand for several months, checked out something called a gamelan orchestra, I spent several years in France learning the wine trade. The rest of the time I just roamed. Tokyo is a hot spot for their form of drumming and it's very impressive. I was five years in France, two in Tokyo, about a year in Thailand, and I spent 4 years in the Philippines. These past 3 I was in Hawaii."

"I always wanted to go there." Mack spied a torch in front of a gate overhead. Elwood pulled to a stop.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Queen Moussette and the Plantation Club

"Merci." Elwood drove on as Alan and Duck spotted an alligator in a small river nearby.

"The Queen Moussette? The voodoo queen?"

"The same. Melody, in your paranormal wanderings, do you know who she was?"

"Oh yes. She and Marie Laveau were sisters, I think. Moussette apparently found the key to immortality and that's how she's still around. She can do hexes and spells, but do not get on her bad side. She will make you regret it."

"How?"

"Well, she's a voodoo queen. Use your imagination." they pulled up and got out of the car. Melody shut the door and a black cat came up to her, tugging at her jeans for affection. She stooped and picked up the cat who nuzzled her with a rusty purr and she smiled. Two gators were sitting nearby, staring at the visitors intently.

"Why does everyone here speak with a French accent?" Buster clung to Elwood's hand, wary of the gators.

"The French settled this area first if I remember my history lesson," Mack replied. "fur traders."

"Queen Moussette will receive you now!" said a stranger in a white wig. They trudged in, taking in the stage and big audience room. It was built like a gym but strange effigies adorned the walls near the stage.

The stranger gestured to the top of the stairs where he announced the queen. She appeared in a flash with a Marge Simpson style hairdo, a dress looking like it came from the 18th century, and a white staff. Melody was impressed, Elwood removed his hat and bowed, followed by everyone else.

The queen simply waved her hand and their instruments appeared. Buster and Melody stood by while Mack and Elwood asked what type of music she wanted to hear. When she said Caribbean, Elwood went off on another one of his rants, saying he and his band did everything but that type of music.

"Elwood!" Melody wanted to smack him. "She wants Caribbean so she gets it! You're not starting off on the right foot here!"

"We don't do that type." he said indignantly. Melody crossed over to him, glaring.

"My apologies, Queen Moussette. He means well, but he's always been turned off Caribbean."

"Your technical director is very right," Melody flushed, who told her that was what she did for them? "In the meantime.." the queen waved her hand again and the band was transformed. Each one wore a white shirt, blazer with black pants and shoes and Melody found herself in a black skirt, tights and shoes with a low heel. She had on a sleeveless white top with gaudy hoop earrings dangling from her ears and she wore the shades. Before anyone knew of what they were doing, they were playing a funky tune. Elwood and Mack's faces had gone green as did their hands as they began to sing.

"Nassau's gone funky  
Nassau's gone soul  
We've got a doggone beat now  
We gonna call our very own

"Nassau rock and Nassau roll  
Nassau's got a whole lotta soul  
Huh  
Feel alright

"Mini skirts  
Maxi skirts  
And afro-haired dudes  
People doin' their own thing  
They don't care 'bout me or you

"Nassau's gone funky  
Nassau's gone soul  
And we've got a doggone beat now  
We gonna take care of business too

"Listen to ze drummer, lay down his beat  
Listen to ze bass man play zat same groovy beat  
Attend the guitars give that soul some tune  
L'organ aussi!  
Et les horns, oui, oui  
Horns!

"Funky Nassau  
Nassau funky  
Alors, puis-je jouier s'il vous plait

"New York you know  
Has got a lot of soul, soul  
And London Town  
Is too doggone cold, too cold, hey  
Nassau's got sunshine  
And this you all know  
But we all go funky  
We got some soul, too, yeah." Melody sang that part of the song almost without realizing it.

"Trumpet! Encore une fois!  
Funky Nassau, funky Nassau."

With a flash, the queen announced they were in the battle of the bands and was gone. The band surrounded Elwood and Mack but to their dismay, the two had apparently turned to stone. Alan pushed Mack over where he hit the floor with a loud clunk.

"Wonderful," he remarked sarcastically as Buster glanced over to where the instruments were.

"Mel!" he ran over and fell to his knees. She was lying on the floor on her left side looking like a discarded rag doll. Murph went over and picked her up off the floor as the guy with the white wig-Marco- went over to them.

"You have no place to stay. Her majesty has a guest house on ze property you may stay zair."

"What did she do to our friend?" Alan angrily demanded.

Marco looked at Melody for a moment. "Ze queen's spells sometimes end like zis. It is an aftereffect but she will revive within a few hours."

"How did this happen?" Duck was intrigued.

"Ze spell takes over a person's mind and energy," Marco explained. "when ze spell is stopped, ze mind is overloaded, doesn't know what to do, so it causes unconsciousness. Females are more susceptible to zis. I lead you to ze house, come!"

The house was a two story done in a colonial style, black with white shutters. The outside looked dilapidated but there were no alligators in sight. Inside it looked brand new. It was still fairly early in the evening, so the band went upstairs and claimed their rooms. There were 3 big bedrooms with 3 twin beds in each one of them, matching oak furniture and the rooms were done in light colors. Lou, Duck, Steve claimed one room, Willie, Murph, and Matt took one, then Buster and Tom claimed a room for themselves.

Murph put Melody on the couch in the living room as Alan sat down beside her. The living room was at the back of the house with a view of the swamp from the big bay windows. Murph flinched as he saw a gator coming out of the water, but knew they wouldn't bother them. Marco reassured them all that Melody would rouse in a few hours and if she didn't the queen would tend to her. The bandmembers drifted around inside the house, each one getting tired and collapsing in bed in succession.

Buster was up late and Alan watched him run around idly as he picked up a magazine and began to read it while he waited for Melody to wake up. He leaned over to check her again, remembering the last time he had found her collapsed on the floor. It was very different circumstances, but he remembered other times when Melody had been ill and he'd looked after her in a similar way.

It had been the second year of their dating and he'd recently moved in with her. Melody hadn't gotten up from bed yet and when Alan had returned from a recording session, he had been stymied. Melody liked to get up around 8 or 9 AM and start her day, but she hadn't gotten up, he didn't think she'd even moved since he left. Something had definitely been wrong and he'd checked her forehead to feel a definite fever spiking up. She was flushed and did not rouse to his gentle persuading, so he'd called a doctor.

The doctor had arrived within an hour, gotten a throat culture done on Melody, though Alan suspected she thought it was all a dream, she never said anything about the experience. She'd tried to struggle a bit, but Alan had to restrain her as the doctor injected an antibiotic into her bloodstream. There hadn't been much that he could do for her, so Alan had relegated himself to trying to get her to drink in her lucid moments and in general providing comfort when her dreams got vivid. He'd spent a few days nursing her, then as he had the week off, he migrated out to the living room to watch TV or read a book. The trumpet player had slept on the couch so he didn't disturb her and then as Melody's fever went down, he rejoined her in bed.

Finally on the third day, Melody had awakened and was lucid. Alan had just walked in from running a quick errand and he checked in to see her staring at him. Both of them had exchanged words, Alan telling her she'd been delirious for the past 24 hours and he was happy that her fever had finally broken. Melody had allowed him to administer to her, enjoying the attention, then when life went back to normal, she kind of missed the attention.

"She hasn't woken up yet?" Buster asked, leaning over the couch and peering at Melody, startling Alan out of his reflections.

"Not yet." Alan checked the clock. "It's almost 11. Shouldn't you be in bed, kid?"

"I want to make sure she wakes up first."

"She will. Come on, get some sleep. It was pretty uncomfortable in the car, right?"

"Yeah it was. I hope she'll be OK."

"She will be. She's got me to look after her."

"OK then." a huge yawn nearly split his head open and Alan had to laugh. "She's like Sleeping Beauty. Try waking her up with a kiss."

Alan giggled as the kid left the room and went to bed. He leaned over and checked Melody's pulse, which was beating normally. Another memory floated up to his mind, of when he was outside her hospital room after her suicide attempt and he was watching her in her drug-induced coma. Sneaking into her room, he went over to her and gave her one last kiss, ignoring the wetness in his eyes as he pressed his hands to hers and gave her a muttered goodbye that he knew she couldn't hear.

The trumpeter sighed as the clock ticked relentlessly past. Melody twitched and he looked down at her, seeing her eyes open. She gasped and began to cough raspily, prompting Alan to prop her up to aid her breathing. "Mel? All right?"

"Sure." she croaked out. "where are we?"

"In the guest house. We got into the battle of the bands tomorrow night."

"Good. Man am I woozy. What the hell happened to me?"

"The queen put us under a spell to do that song and we came out of the spell with no ill effects but Elwood and Mack turned to stone, you just collapsed outright."

"Oh," Melody's head was spinning and she only got relief by lying down. "man I feel like I'm drunk."

"Try to sleep, you should feel better after that."

"I was going to ask you about our relationship but that can wait until the morning," she agreed, closing her eyes. Alan kissed the top of her head and prepared to spend the night with her on the couch. Melody pressed his hand to hers for a brief moment as she sighed.

"Come on, snuggle up." Alan lay down and gently pulled her beside him. She acceded to his minstrations and quickly fell into a deep and healing sleep. Her former boyfriend raked his fingers through her hair as he waited for sleep to claim him.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Day and Night

Early on the next morning, Murph passed through downstairs as he went to collect his things from the bag he'd left the night before. He saw Alan and Melody sleeping together on the couch, Melody's head on his chest like she was listening to his heart, though her eyes were closed. The piano player chuckled, picked up a blanket and spread it over them, then left the room quietly. Buster followed him, sneakily taking a picture of the couple.

At 8 AM, the trumpet player woke up slowly, liking hearing the birds out in the swampy groves of the property. A few gators grunted around as they swam in the depths of the river nearby, splashing in and out of the water. Melody's slow and even breathing came to his ears and he opened up his eyes to see Melody's head on him, a strangely comforting weight. He remembered how Melody often did like to curl up next to him in bed, realizing how much he'd missed it over the years. Her dark blonde hair was pulled back in that familiar braid, though the trend now was side bangs which she had. Alan liked the new side bangs on Melody, it framed her face nicely and made her seem more youthful.

Melody stirred and awakened then, moving her head slowly to meet Alan's eyes. She blushed a little bit, made to sit up, but Alan's hand stopped her. He enfolded his arm across her back, enjoying the closeness that they hadn't had for the past 8 years.

"Morning."

"Back at you, Alan." she rubbed her eyes and glanced up at him. "So that note you left all those years ago, what did it say?"

"Very direct, aren't you? The note said that I was going on tour for awhile and I thought that our relationship needed cooling off some. I was going to come back and talk to you."

"Why the sudden change of heart? I was cutting it for you, wasn't I?"

"Yes you were, Mel. Ever since my father died, I had changed and I knew it. I just felt more edgy and very anxious. I had a lot of self doubt back then and I didn't know what to do."

"You needed time to find yourself again." Melody understood that completely. "What I'm confused on I guess is why didn't you come back or call me and make sure I got the message?"

"I was convinced that you'd be better off without me and I didn't bother to do any of those things."

"So you quit me."

"That's one way of putting it. I did come back about 3 months later and I saw you lying on the couch with all these bottles of medicine around you."

Melody watched Alan, her eyes alight. "Was it you?"

He smiled grimly. "If you want to call it that. I was trying to revive you, you know wake you up, I was near hysteria myself, then the ambulance crew comes in. They were worried about you going into cardiac arrest but that didn't happen. I went to the ER with you, the doctor told me what happened to you, that they had to put you into a coma for the first few days, you got sick with a staph infection. Before they woke you up, I went in to say goodbye as I had to leave for a tour."

"Did you send me those flowers?"

"I did. I felt guilty that I wasn't there for you, I missed you, but I thought you tried to kill yourself over me. I thought that staying with you would only make it worse."

"I think it would have," she muttered. "I did want to die, Alan, but it wasn't all because of you."

"You can tell me about that later. What happened next in your life? I tried to go back but I didn't find your name in the phone book."

"Oh, I had moved out to Wyoming to help care for my sick dad. I was out there for two years until he died then I came back."

"I'm sorry you went through that alone." he hugged her tightly.

"You didn't know. It's OK. I had my brothers to boss around."

"I'd have liked to see that!" Alan chortled. He had met Melody's brothers only once and knew very little about them.

"The brothers left for opposite parts of the USA and I don't know any more about them."

"Right." he knew that Melody and her brothers were not close at all. "Well, I'm starved. How about you?"

"Yes I am." her dizziness from the previous night had vanished and she was able to stand up properly. Buster bounced into the room and took her hand, saying that Murph was making up breakfast for them.

That afternoon, Melody decided to take a walk and Alan joined her with Buster bringing up the rear. He cantered around, looking at all the Spanish moss draped around majestic trees, he didn't get too close to the alligators walking around and found a grove of birds he'd never seen before. One of them flew onto his shoulder and clicked their beak like they were waiting for something.

"Mel, Alan, look!"

"That's a cockatoo, Buster. They're really friendly." Melody smiled as the bird hopped onto her shoulder and gave her a stare with deep brown eyes. "Pretty bird?"

"Fuck you!" the bird said in a conversational tone, causing Alan to crack up laughing.

"Buster, don't repeat what this bird says."

"I won't."

"I'm about to unload a torrent of swearing on this bird." Melody was originally from New England with sailors in her ancestry. What followed then was an almost unspeakable barrage of vulgar swearing and words that were not familiar even to Alan, which was very surprising as he was from New York. The men watched her with their jaws scraping the ground as Melody used every swear and vulgar expression she'd ever heard in her family over the years. By the time she was done, even the bird seemed dumbfounded. The technical director and vocalist peered smugly at the bird as it preened itself.

"All right you're no fun! Piss off!" with a little shake of her shoulder, the cockatoo spread its wings and flapped away. In a flash, an African gray parrot landed on her outstretched hand, turned towards her, and let out a big obnoxious wolf whistle.

"Beautiful place, this." Alan and Melody stood on a bridge under a weeping willow that reminded Melody of a Monet painting. She imagined herself in a 19th century dress with a boater hat sitting under that willow and reading a book. Willows always had a grip on her romantic imagination and Alan seemed to recognize that. He slipped her hand in his as they watched the gators downstream get fed by their handlers.

"Isn't it? It's like a dream." she answered lazily.

"So what do you think? Want to give it another shot?"

"No drama. We must avoid it at all costs. If you feel ambiguous, talk to me."

"Deal." Alan savored a kiss.

"What are you two doing?" Buster teased as he came up to them. He handed a flower to Melody who thanked him and stuck it behind her right ear. Alan took her hand, Buster took the other one, and they began to walk back to the guest house to get supper going.

"We're just havin' a good time, Buster. You?" Alan squeezed her hand, an unspoken meaning if they wanted to have a good time by themselves, they'd have to ditch the kid. Melody turned to look at her boyfriend with a cocky stare, understanding him, but not indulging in his whim just yet. The two of them would screw around later after the show or maybe before call time. Alan understood her glance as a yes but not now and shot her a grin.

"The same!" he opened up the door to the house and went in as the other bandmembers were nowhere to be seen. It was about 5:30 and Melody asked Buster if he'd like to help her make supper.

"Sure. What are we makin'?"

"One of my favorites, breaded crusty chicken, smashed spuds, and something green." the fridge was well stocked and Melody set to work. Buster climbed up on a chair to help. She taught him how to use a knife properly, setting him to chop up the potatoes well and putting them in a pot of water to boil. Setting out more ingredients, she taught Buster how to make the chicken, also showed him how to split a chicken breast without getting cut.

"Stay here my man, tell me when they get all white on the edges." she greased a few cast iron skillets and put the pieces in.

"Did you go to school for this?"

"No!" Melody laughed. "I had other things going on and school was the last thing on my mind. My dad taught me cooking at an early age. When I went to Wyoming to take care of my dad, my brothers hated cooking so I ended up doing almost all of it."

"Time to turn them." Buster stabbed at the chicken pieces with a fork and flipped them over neatly.

"Not bad, Buster. I think you'll be good at this someday." she tested the potatoes and found they were nearly ready. Melody drained them, put them back into the pot and began to smash them down, enjoying the little workout her arm got. "I like doing this when I'm mad." Buster laughed. The two of them giggled and joked as she chose the green item for the menu and set the microwave to work. When all was said and done, she called the band in.

"Wow, look at this spread!" Steve exclaimed.

"It's buffet style, grab your own. I'm not waiting on anyone." Buster and Melody served themselves and sat down in the living room to gossip while everyone else spread out to where they wanted.

"That was great," Duck put the dishwasher to work. "I'd hire her as my cook!"

"She's done some amazing things," Alan admitted. "she's quite partial to baking and loves to experiment. Mel's made an absolutely perfect meringue on her first time doing so. I've never heard of some of the things she's made but it was all great."

"What else has she tried?" Murph, Alan, and Duck sat out on the back deck that overlooked the swamp.

"If I remember right, she used to bake these amazing two layer cakes and do special orders for some of her friends. It took her hours, but she managed a checkerboard style one. That girl can make or bake almost anything, I swear."

"Did she ever make you a cake?"

"Oh yes. I told her to do something I had never seen before and she did it. She knows I like blueberries so she made me a blueberry cake, a little 5 inch one, covered it with chocolate, and did one of those border things around the edge."

"Sounds great."

"It was. Mel didn't like using processed blueberries either, so she did something to fresh ones that I don't remember what it's called, but by god it was good!"

"Hey guys," Melody peered around the screen door. "planning mass destruction out here?"

"Mel, what was it you did to the blueberries when you made that cake years ago?" Alan turned to look at her.

It took a second for the light to turn on in her head. "Oh that one! Well, I made a compote. It's like turning it into a jam to work with only it's much fresher."

"Alan's been telling us of your baking prowess." Duck explained.

"He would know! I've been doing baking and all that since I was about 14 years old. I've done fruitcake before and a pavlova."

"The bane of the Christmas season!" Murph mocked with a laugh.

"To many, yes. I was asked to make two for a friend so I did. It never ever goes bad because there's rum and brandy in it. I've augmented my version with some Grand Marnier and a few other secrets."

"What's a pavlova?"

"Just a cake with a meringue instead of icing. Anyway, I came out here to let you guys know it's call time. Come on."

"Plan on making any local fare while we're out here?" Duck asked as they filtered back inside.

"No. I'm not about to go stretch myself too thin trying to make the southern cherpumple."

"What is that?"

"It is a cherry pie, pumpkin pie, and an apple pie all baked together into a monstrous cake." Melody rolled her eyes, thinking that monstrosity was definitely overdoing it in every way possible. The entire thing was about six inches to a foot high and she didn't want to do one ever.

"Know what a turducken is?" Murph sidled up beside her as Buster walked with Matt in front of them.

"Yes and I hope I never do one of those either. It seems like a triple match made in hell."

The band made their way up to the stage area of the house with the queen nowhere in sight, Elwood and Mack were still in stone. Helpless to their plight, the band set up for sound check with Melody doing a few bars of Mr. Saxobeat with Lou while he tuned up.

"So what's the costume for tonight?" Buster pulled out a rack of clothes with tags bearing the bandmembers' names on them. Melody's was in the very front and it was more feminine than the others. Long ago she'd settled for sleeveless white shirts and black pants to align herself with the band and it seemed that tradition still held true. The band attired themselves in black pants and shirts with shiny black shoes, their ties were black with two broad horizontal stripes of purple, and their blazers matched the purple on the ties.

"Not bad," Melody checked Alan out. "want a purple band for your hair too?" he took a swipe at her and she jumped away, giggling.

As for herself, she wore black pants and a sleeveless purple top that matched the band's purple color. She didn't wear ribbons in her hair, thinking that it was more of a little girl thing, but she did add a purple bracelet to her left wrist. Melody put on her shades but tilted them up so they were on her forehead so she could see better. Buster watched her zip up her boots and stand up.

"Lookin' good!" she gave him a flouncy turn.

"Thank you. I don't even have my makeup on yet." instead of her musical scarf she still had, Melody put on a decorative belt that was not leather but silver rings all interlocking so it made a line. Chain belts were a very popular item now and she was glad to fasten it on. When she stood up, she saw she was no longer the prim receptionist at a law office, but the technical person and part time vocalist of a great blues group. Makeup was applied, a little light foundation, silver eyeliner, the same blue-pink lipstick, and that was it. Melody did not like wearing mascara and too much makeup made her feel like she had cement on her face. The band had only seen her in full regalia one other time and this would be a rare treat for them as well.

"Come on, Buster."

Steve was the first to see Melody, then Tom. Soon everyone was looking at her in a little awe as Alan picked up the engraved mouthpiece of his trumpet. "Mel, come here for a second."

"Sure. What's up?" he handed her the mouthpiece. "You still have this?"

"Do you think I could ever let it go?"

"Sweet," Melody turned it in her fingers. "it's a little piece of me wherever you go, Alan."

"I couldn't part with it, you said it best. A little piece of you. I used it and thought about you countless times after I left you. I'd touch this and think about your smile, your eyes..." he touched the right side of her face with his left hand, admiring her brown eyes. "and I knew someday I'd see you again."

"Oh Alan," she pulled off her ring and showed him. "I did the same with this." he picked up her hand and saw the tan line where the ring rested. "I never took it off." Alan slid it back onto her finger, watching her eyes.

"I'd kiss you if I don't get lipstick on me again." Melody laughed as she dropped her hand back down.

"I anticipated this. I put on a sealer so it keeps my lips hydrated and the color stays on me." he touched her lip first then when no color appeared, he went full on her lips, kissing her. Melody allowed this, enjoying it very much and playing with him a little bit.

"I still don't like tongue." Alan said when they pulled apart.

Melody sucked in some air and pouted. "Damn!" the crowds started coming in then and the first band began doing their warmups.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Love Light

"We're not on for another hour, so what do you say?" Alan took Melody's hand and opened up the door to a small janitor's closet backstage. Melody pretended to think it over, causing her boyfriend to shoot her a look. "Come on, we've done it in other places!"

"There's truth to that." hands behind her back and putting on a playful look, she went in first and with a randy grin, Alan went in and shut the door.

"Let's see if you know any new moves."

"Turn the light on-wait, don't. I like a challenge."

"You have changed, Mel."

"Sort of. I like forceful angry sex."

"Wow, that is so unlike you!"

"Not anymore!" Melody growled a little bit and things continued from there.

"Where did Mel and Alan go?" Willie came down the hall an hour later. "We're on in five, man!"

Alan came out of the janitor's closet, looking around, slightly sweaty and disheveled. Melody followed, flipping her braid back between her shoulder blades and buttoning up the last button on her shirt. The duo went to the makeup mirror, tidied up, then found the band was looking for them. They pretended they had been getting their makeup done, a statement nobody wanted to challenge, but it was pretty clear what they had been doing. Willie and Lou smirked while the others had knowing smiles on their faces except for Buster, who understood that the two had done something he didn't know about.

Buster and Melody took their places besides stone Elwood and Mack, ready for the curtain to open up on them. Elwood, Mack, Melody and Buster were to sing the song Love Light, but if necessary Melody and Buster could sing it by themselves. As soon as the curtains opened, two flashes of light appeared and the two singers lost the gray color.

Both of them surmised the situation and the music started up.

"Without a warning you broke my heart," Melody started right in, giving it her all.  
You took it darling and you tore it apart  
You left me sitting in the dark crying  
You said your love light for me was dying

"I'm begging you baby  
Baby please  
I'm begging you baby  
Baby please  
Turn on the light  
Let it shine on me  
Turn on your love light  
Let it shine on me  
Let it shine, shine, shine  
Let it shine  
Rowww!

"I get a little lonely in the middle of the night  
I need you darling to make things all right

"Come on baby  
Come on please  
Come on baby  
Baby please

"Turn on the light  
Let it shine on me  
Turn on your love light  
Let it shine on me

"I said a little bit higher  
A little bit higher  
Just a little bit higher  
A little bit higher

"Come on baby  
Come on please  
I'm begging you baby  
I'm down on my knees  
Turn on the light  
Let it shine on me  
Turn on your love light  
Let it shine on me  
I feel all right!  
I feel all right!  
I feel all right!  
I feel all right!

"Oh let it shine, shine, shine  
Let it shine!"

"Love Light, the Blues Brothers." Elwood spoke as the curtain dropped.

"You were phenomenal, Mel. All of you were." Alan and Murph told them as they fiddled with their instruments, waiting for a verdict. Sadly they didn't win first place but they were the runners up. They had won a prize but nobody knew just what it was yet. The curtains opened again and both bands were face to face. Elwood and the other singer exchanged friendly words and invited them to jam.

"Why not?" grins all around as the drummers struck up a tune.

"I said hey, hey, hey, hey, yeah  
I said a hey, a hey, hey, yeah  
A-come on everybody take a trip with me  
Down the Mississippi down to New Orleans

"They got a honeysuckle growing on a honeysuckle vine  
And love is a blooming there all the time  
Well every southern belle is a Mississippi queen  
Down the Mississippi down to New Orleans

"I said hey, hey, hey, hey, yeah  
I said a hey, hey, hey, yeah

"A-come on take a stroll down to Basin street  
Listen to the music with that Dixieland beat  
Well the magnolia blossoms fill the air  
Whoa,whoa, and you ain't been to heaven till you been down there

"They got French moss hangin from a big oak tree  
Get outta here Jimmy Vaughan take it!

"I said hey, hey, hey, hey, yeah  
I said a hey, hey, hey, yeah

"Come on everybody take a trip with me  
Down the Mississippi down to New Orleans, yeah, yeah.  
With a honeysuckle hanging on a honeysuckle vine  
Well love is blooming there all the time  
Every southern belle is a Mississippi queen  
Down the Mississippi down to New Orleans

"Yeah, yeah, yeah  
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

"Come on take a stroll down to Basin street  
Listen to the music with the dixieland beat, yeah  
I say, the magnolia blossoms fill the air  
And you ain't been to heaven if you ain't been there.  
Honeysuckle hanging from a hollow tree  
Down in Mississippi down in New Orleans

"Well, I said Hey, hey, hey, yeah  
I said a look out John, hey, yeah, yeah!"

When that song faded away they were left in a companionable silence until the lead singer of the other group spied Melody. Measuring her up with his eyes, he asked, "How well can she sing, Elwood?"

"By herself?"

"Yeah, I'd like to hear something from her voice. What do you say?"

Melody wasn't used to being put on the spot like that, but with the crowd cheering, she replied, "Why not? I'm gonna try something from Tower of Power."

"So you wanna jump out your trick bag  
Ease on into a hip bag  
But you ain't just exactly sure what's hip

"So you start to let your hair grow  
Spent big bucks on your wardrobe  
But somehow you know there's much more to the trip

"What is hip? Tell me tell me, if you think ya know  
What is hip? And if you're really hip, the passing years will show  
You into a hip trip, maybe hipper than hip  
But what is hip?

"So you became part of the new breed  
Been smoking only the best weed  
Hanging out with so-called hippest set  
Been seen in all the right places  
Seen with just the right faces  
You should be satisfied  
But still it ain't quite right

"What is hip? Tell me tell me if you think you know  
What is hip? And if you're really hip  
The passing years would show  
You into a hip trip, maybe hipper than hip  
What is hip?

"Hipness is  
what it is!

"Sometimes hipness is what it ain't!

"You done went and found you a guru  
In an effort to find you a new you  
And maybe even managed to raise your conscience level

"As you're striving to find the right road  
There's one thing you should know  
What's hip today might become passe

"What is hip? Tell me tell me if you think you know  
What is hip? And if you're really hip, the passing years would show  
That you into a hip trip. Maybe hipper than hip  
WHAT IS HIP?

"Think about it y'all!"

"Very good!" everyone applauded Melody and she blushed as she bowed. "I think it's time to get to the new gig! Elwood, always a pleasure." the other band left as Marco came to say that the Blues Brothers band had won a weeklong engagement in the French quarter of New Orleans.

"Great! Where exactly?"

"1140 Royal Street. You will have lodgings next door and you will play there 3 nights."

Alan was observing Melody when Marco was talking to them and he noticed some of the color drained from Melody's face. He made a mental note to ask about it later. The band were permitted to stay one more night in the guest house, then they would be in the French quarter the next morning. Buster beamed and Elwood smiled. Mack hugged Melody and told her that she knocked 'em dead with her tune.

"Thanks, Mack."

In the guest house later on that night, Tom and Lou buttonholed Melody before Alan could get to her, asking her why she looked so pale when Marco mentioned the location of the next gig. The singer sank down on the couch with them, gathering her thoughts before she spoke.

"That house, 1140 Royal Street is haunted to the extreme. You guys don't know the history of that house like I do."

"Tell us." Alan appeared.

"Madame Delphine LaLaurie was a rich bitch, she had a doctor husband, two girls, they were rich, ran a plantation with black slaves. She had it all until people saw her trying to horsewhip a young slave girl who was combing her hair and hit a snag. The girl ended up jumping for it off the balcony. Her slaves were impounded and sold to other owners who then gave them right back to her. LaLaurie treated them nastily until the cook set fire to the kitchen to call attention at what was going on in that house. The firefighters saw in the attic what could be described as a freak show. Slaves were gutted, experimented with, absolutely horrible. Slaves had been killed and buried under the floorboards of that house as well."

"Damn." Tom couldn't think of any thing else to say. "We'll be playing there not sleeping there."

"I'm interested in the haunting though I'm glad we're not sleeping there at all," Melody shuddered. "I've had enough of that."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Haunted Venue

Buster carried in an amp into the Royal Street house. He'd heard that the house was haunted, but nobody in the band was going to tell him anything about it. Even Melody and Alan, who believed it was best to be honest, did not confide what had happened in that house over the past two centuries. The youngest member of the band set down the amp near Murph's piano keyboard and hooked it up, adjusting the sound so that he didn't hear the squawking feedback it would usually emit.

"Elwood!" a familiar bark permeated his ears. Buster looked out the window to see Mother Mary standing beside Elwood, giving him a tongue lashing by the looks of it. The child froze, not wanting Mother Mary to see him in with Elwood, so he dashed out the back door, nearly tripping Alan, Melody, and Murph.

"Where's the fire, kid?" Murph called. Melody glanced at Alan and Murph, then handed the piano player the cable reel she was carrying.

"Something's upsetting him. I'll be right back." she turned and went after Buster while the two musicians continued unloading in the stage area.

Melody jogged through the back alley behind the old mansion, calling Buster every few feet. She finally tracked him down sitting under a fire escape, patting idly at a stray cat. He saw Melody approaching but didn't do anything. The singer was less imposing than Elwood and he felt like he could talk to her. She sat down next to him and didn't say anything until he was ready to speak.

"The director of the orphanage I came from is here," he muttered, accepting the tissue Melody handed him. Swiping at his eyes ineffectively, he continued, "now she's going to put me in some foster home and I'll never see Elwood again. I want to be with him."

"It's all right," Melody soothed him, drawing him into her arms, wondering if he was ever able to be comforted like this before. "you know we won't let you go if we possibly can. You're a part of us."

"That's what the nun won't understand!" Buster cried, his voice wobbling. Melody pulled another tissue out of her pocket and dabbed at Buster's eyes. She'd come to regard Buster like a little brother and was surprised at how fast it had happened. The vocalist had always been good with children and it had been a regret that she had not been able to have any of her own. Maybe God in his infinite wisdom was giving her a chance by means of the small boy in front of her. Buster clung to her like she was a life preserver while burying his head in her shoulder, snuffling.

"Buster, she's the one who raised Jake and Elwood years ago. I think she will understand. Elwood's told me some about the nun and she's not unreasonable. Can you trust us?"

Buster sniffled and looked up into Melody's warm brown eyes. "Really?"

"Truly, all of us want what's best for you. I'd like to see you grow up happy and healthy, with a mind for the blues music. What's important to understand, Buster, is that when you're 18 years old, you are an adult and you can come find Elwood then if worse comes to worse. It is a long time, but you will be an adult eventually. Come on now, hungry?"

"Yeah." they stood up, Buster putting his hand in hers.

"Oh boy," Elwood groaned as he and Mack saw the Penguin marching up to them. "Buster's part of her orphanage, Mack, and I don't want to lose him."

"I understand that, El. I'll help you fight for him." Mack promised.

"Elwood!" Mary snapped. "I leave you with Buster for only two hours and you never return! It's been over a week!" the nun might have been old in years, but she still emitted a powerful presence. Even Mack was starting to shrink a little over her verbal rampage.

"Please, Mother-"

"Don't you give me that, Elwood!" she railroaded him. "He's not your son and you have no legal custody of him!"

"Please Mother, I want to adopt Buster." Mack interrupted, stopping them both cold. "He needs a good home and I make a good living to support us."

"You're a member of his band then?" her squirrely blue eyes fixated on Mack and he made his voice as pleasant as he could.

"Yes, Mother."

"Lord knows how I want Buster in a secure and stable home," she sighed, her fury subsiding. "the adoption rates aren't very good right now."

"I will take him," Mack proclaimed. "he's fond of Elwood, he loves the music, he has befriended the band and they all adore him."

"Is your wife agreeable?"

"My wife died years ago, Mother."

"My condolences then." she put a wrinkled and gnarled hand on Mack's wrist and gave it a friendly squeeze. He put his hand over hers and squeezed it back, accepting her gesture.

"Thank you, Mother."

"Very well," Elwood perked up. "I will appoint you Buster's temporary guardian until you all get back to Chicago and we can finalize the adoption. Where is Buster?"

"He was helping set up the last I knew."

"I will be going back to Chicago in a few hours, Elwood. I don't want you screwing it up again!" she pointed a horny finger at her former charge.

"You have my word, Mother." the nun embraced Elwood, shook Mack's hand, then left.

"Close one!" Mack leaned against a brick wall, having been awed by her sheer presence. He took a minute and straightened himself up as he heard the car door of Matt's Mercedes slam shut. It was odd, but it had turned up the night of the battle of the bands.

"She's formidable, Mack. Jake and I used to get on her bad side all the time." they began to walk towards the front doors of the house.

"I can imagine that."

"So you adopt Buster..." Elwood hedged, trying not to be jealous.

"Come on, El!" Mack clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You'll be the second in command if you come live with me when we're done here." Elwood brightened up considerably as Murph and Matt stepped outside to get the rest of the equipment. Reenergized, Elwood gave them a hand while Mack shut the trunk and followed them into the old mansion.

"Nice place," he commented, surveying the vastness. "now what's the story of this house?"

"Melody told me it was a real freak show," Alan volunteered as he put his trumpet case down. "I'll get her to tell you when she gets back."

"Where is she?"

"We saw Buster run off looking distressed, so Melody went after him." Murph answered as he helped Tom set up the microphone.

"We're right here," Buster's voice rang out. "Mel and I went out for supper, that's all."

"Good for you guys. So Mel, what's with this place? I get an Addams Family vibe from here." Mack smiled kindly at his future charge.

"Buster, this isn't going to give you happy dreams," Melody warned him as he encouraged her to tell them all what had transpired at that house. "It was around 1835 or 1834, I don't remember which, that there was a fire in the kitchen set by a black slave who was chained to the stove. When the fire department came, she told them to look in the attic and it wasn't a pretty sight. Madame and doctor LaLaurie had been cruel to their slaves, torturing them. There were reports a servant girl no older than you Buster, leapt to her death from a balcony because her mistress was chasing her with a whip. During renovations, skeletons were found under the floorboards and they say there's a lot more. It wasn't long before ghosts started appearing, two little girls playing on the beds, Madame LaLaurie apparently likes to strangle black people, there's been a black apparition wearing chains going up and down the stairs."

"Damn," Matt remarked. "sounds like one awful bitch."

"She was rich and entitled. Hardly anyone had the gall to say no to her." a loud crash sounded behind them and they saw one of the windows had slammed shut.

"Um, we're going out to supper. You two do whatever..." Elwood was already unnerved by the place. The band agreed, leaving their things in Melody and Buster's care until they returned. Mack had a quick word with Buster to inform him of what was going on and Buster's face lit up in an ear to ear grin. He hugged Mack and thanked him a million times before he left with the others.

"What should we do now, kid?" Melody turned a few dance steps on the floor. Buster was lost in thought as he walked about, wondering if there were more skeletons under the floorboards.

"What happened to Madame LaLaurie?"

"She and her hubby escaped a riot that was started when the conditions of the slaves were revealed, and went to France. The madame apparently died in some boar or animal hunting accident. There's a small nameplate in one of the cemeteries that says this."

"Huh," not interesting to Buster, he turned a few moves of his own and faced Melody. "you know Elwood sang in a strip club when he first came back?"

"I have a hard time really picturing him in those venues."

"But he was great."

"Elwood was always great and he forever will be."

"You toured with him, right?"

"Yes indeed. About 15 years ago."

"Was it true what you said about Jake?"

"About him dying to protect me?"

"Yeah."

"I wouldn't make that up, Buster." Melody took a few steps forward and turned a neat handspring. "I still got it."

"Nice!"

"Thanks. Jake and I used to do this sort of thing all the time."

"What was he like?"

"Jake? He was hysterically funny and really protective of the band. I remember Murph and Matt telling me that Jake helped Alan get out of a bad relationship once."

"Sounds like a nice guy."

"He was. After all this, I'll take you to his grave."

"Deal."

The first night's performance was a total hit across the boards. Elwood was thrilled with the influx of cash and decided to give the bandmembers raises. While they were taking care of the equipment and locking it up, Buster ambushed Melody in the back by throwing his arms around her and kissing her on the cheek. She giggled and teased him, then they heard a thumping sound from upstairs.

"Someone didn't want to clear out," she groaned, picking up a flashlight. The power was cut off upstairs to discourage people from going up there. Buster volunteered to come with her, his hand in hers. "time to put on the bouncer faces, kid."

Upstairs, the beam of light wasn't powerful enough to project a clear beam across the floor. It was a puny little five dollar flashlight which flickered and buzzed, hissing loudly, then it burned out. Melody cursed and stuck it in her pocket for the moment, asking Buster to go downstairs to fetch the Maglite she had brought along. He disappeared and Melody was waiting when she heard more creaks in the second floor.

"Anyone up here?" she asked, walking forward slowly.

When Buster got back upstairs with the flashlight, he turned it on and looked to where Melody had been when he left her, but she wasn't there anymore. "Melody?"

Melody peered around a corner, then turned to look back, seeing a beam of light. "Buster?" she walked towards it and when she got there, she discovered the light shining did not cast a shadow on her hand. "Odd..." a black silhouette appeared in the light, two red eyes glared into hers. Melody did not react to the eyes at first, trying to gauge where they were coming from.

The eyes got closer to her and she still didn't react. Finally, what looked like a curtain of blackness descended upon her.

Buster heard the fall and zeroed in on the spot, swearing enough for four people as he trained the light on Melody. "Mel!" he fell to his knees and checked her over but she wasn't bleeding. "Come on, Mel! Wake up!" the boy nudged her but she didn't respond. "I'll go get the guys!" hightailing it out of the upper story, he vanished again.

A few minutes later, Melody groaned and raised up her head, cursing richly as she shook the dust off of her hands. "The hell was that?!"

Standing up, she ventured into the hallway near the stairs when she heard her name being spoken. "Buster?" a figure appeared, clad in white, drifting closer to Melody. The singer thought there was something familiar about the ghost, then the familiar features disintegrated and a distorted female launched herself at Melody, causing her to scream and stumble, missing the stairs and falling down them. A flash of pain caused her to see red and that was all she remembered.

"Guys!" Buster shouted as he rushed into the vast front room.

"What is it, kid?" Steve unhooked his guitar.

"Yeah Buster, where's the fire?" Matt asked lazily as he put his guitar back in its case.

"It's Melody!"

Alan felt his heart jump. "What about her?"

"She's hurt! Come on!"

"Oh god." Elwood, Mack and Alan followed Buster.

"Why did you guys go up here?" Elwood inquired as Buster opened up the stairway door and pulling out the flashlight.

"We thought we heard someone who missed last call." the kid explained as he turned on the light and projected the light into the blackness.

"Oh shit." Mack and Elwood knelt down beside Melody as Alan gently checked her over for any external injuries. Buster checked her head the way she had taught him, and he didn't feel anything that would indicate a head injury. As they were bending over her, Melody groaned and opened up her eyes. Alan looked into them anxiously, wondering if she had a head wound. Mack picked up her wrist in order to check her pulse, but she playfully shook him off. Elwood leaned into her view, appraising her carefully.

"Mel?"

"Alan. Guys." she sat up, then a knifelike pain ran through her left shoulder. Melody brought her right hand up to her left shoulder and swore mightily, but the pain did not abate. "Son of a fuck."

"What is it?" Mack demanded.

"Where are you hurt?" Elwood shone the flashlight over her left shoulder, though there was no bleeding.

"I'm all right." she stood up.

"The fuck you are!" Alan blustered. "Come on."

"It's nothing, really. Something spooked me and I fell down the stairs. Musta landed wrong."

"Rotator cuff injury?" Mack looked knowledgeable. "I've done that once."

"That must be it." she was able to keep her arm stationary and the pain wasn't as bad.

"Shouldn't we get you to a doctor?"

"That's a good idea, Alan." Buster jutted his chin up at Melody, daring her to contradict him. "Right, Mel?"

"Right." there was no strength to argue so Mack took Buster to the hotel room while Alan took Melody to the emergency room. Elwood told the band what had gone on and they continued putting away the equipment.

"All right, Mel," Alan took the questionnaire in the emergency room and sat down next to her. "be honest." Melody answered the questions to the best of her knowledge, cutting him off with a glare when he was about to ask questions that were of a delicate nature. Smirking, he marked off her answers and turned it into the charge nurse, who took Melody and Alan back to a triage room, tagged Melody with an ID bracelet, then sent for one of the attending physicians.

A phlebotomist arrived to install an IV line and it was plain that the person was new and unfamiliar with the job. Alan distracted Melody the best he was able to, but she wasn't in the mood to be poked at. She didn't say anything, but it seemed to make her pain worse already, and she turned her head away. After a lot of poking, prodding, and finally installing a line, the amateur left. Alan swore at the sight of 3 attempted IV sites, all of which were already turning a shade of blue. The final site had been in the crook of her left elbow and by the time the needle had been inserted, Melody was about ready to demand an expert phlebotomist to attend to her.

"About damn time." Alan muttered, sitting next to her on the bed. "How you holding up?"

"I'm in a lot of pain right now so not very well." he rubbed her back comfortingly as a doctor knocked and came in. He was tall, graying brown hair and green eyes. The physician had an air of authority and yet he had the air of being someone that was easy to talk to. Melody liked him immediately and she seemed to brighten up a bit.

"Ms. Calloway, in some joint pain are you?" the doctor said conversationally as he gently prodded her left arm. Alan observed as the doctor tried to manipulate her left arm and Melody bit her lip, trying to keep her mind clear of the pain.

"Seems that way. I hope it's not dislocated. Feels like it's on fire."

"I don't think it's dislocated at all." he flexed the joint carefully as Melody bit back a swear. "Looks like an inflamed rotator cuff. I want an x-ray to make sure, and after that I think you can go home. Any pain medicine allergies?"

"Aspirin and narcotics." both made her ill.

"Well, I don't need to give you a script then! You can get some acetominephen over the counter in the pharmacy across the street. I'll be back to check the x-ray and let you know."

"Thanks."

The x-ray went off without any problems, though Melody insisted on walking down with the nurse and Alan. She was not an invalid and had no intention of being one, she'd remarked. The nurse had asked Alan if she was always like that and he'd replied with a fake sigh that she was. Melody was in too much pain to give off a smart remark or she would have.

About 20 minutes later, Melody and Alan were greeted by the doctor, who told them there was no evidence of a break or dislocation. There was some inflammation which would go down in about a week. The doctor gave her an intravenous dose of acetominephen so she would start feeling somewhat better, signed discharge forms, and told them they were free to go. The musician took Melody back to the hotel where she wearily changed for bed and went to sleep almost immediately.

"She's fine," Alan stepped outside the hotel room to reassure his friends. "when she fell, she twisted the tendon so it's all inflamed. It'll be better again pretty soon."

"Can I see her?"

"Sorry, kid. They hit her up with acetominephen before we left, so she's drugged up pretty well. She's sleeping it off."

"Come on, Buster." Elwood and Mack escorted Buster back to their room as the other bandmembers went back to their rooms as well.

Alan was unable to sleep that night. He kept getting awakened by thinking that he was hearing something, but there was nothing around that could make a sound. Melody lay quiet and motionless throughout the night, Alan noticing her breathing was a bit heavier than usual. That was from the drugs, he had to remind himself. The musician was very restless and he knew sleeping was off the table for that night, so he flicked on his portable CD player and began to play some tunes. He'd freelanced for several musical groups and had copies of the music he either liked or was in and added it to his personal collection.

Watching Melody sleep as a guitar solo played in his ears, he remembered the last time he thought he'd never see her again.

_He had become a fully certified mortician or funeral director, and during one night when he was unable to sleep, he thought about Melody. It had been almost 10 years since he last saw her and he wondered what had happened to her. Lou and Tom knew nothing of her, nor did Steve, Duck, or Matt. Willie rarely spoke to the rest of the band, being kept busy with his strip club. There was an air of mystery around Melody because nobody knew where she was or what she was doing. Tom often referred to her as the ghost for obvious reasons._

_Alan still did trumpet work but it was more of a sideline now. He'd tried searching for Melody's name on the Internet and didn't find anything conclusive. Unfamiliar with the Internet and the various services it could provide, he didn't try searching for her name since then. Once there had been a house fire and the unidentified female victim had nearly matched Melody's looks. Since his funeral home was the provider of that lady, Alan had to ride out with his hearse driver and recover the body from the hospital morgue to be prepared for burial._

_The family had made the proper arrangements and it was Alan's job to notify the groundskeeper of the cemetery the location of the plot, the time of the service, and when the vault guys would be arriving. Thankfully, when the invoice arrived for the services, Alan saw the decedent's name was not Melody's. He'd uttered a sigh of relief that it wasn't her, then wondered again where she was._

_Where was she? Traveling? Alan wondered as he sat up in bed one night, unable to sleep. He crossed over to his closet, pulled out a small shoebox filled with memorabilia and sentimental items, then in the moonlight, he sat on the bed and removed the top of the box. The trumpet player picked out a small framed 8X10 photograph of Melody. It was taken when they were on the only camping trip Melody had been able to get him to go on. She was sitting on some big rocks near the ocean, wearing khaki shorts, hiking boots, a green t-shirt and a chamois shirt in a purple plaid design, the tails tied in front. She had her head towards him, sunglasses on, beaming a big cheeky smile for him._

_The next photograph he unearthed was of Melody standing on the bow of a river ferry with Alan right beside her. They were both looking out over the water with their hands on the railing. Jake had sneakily shot that picture when they were coming back from a gig in Ontario and they had to cross Lake Champlain to get back._

_Alan crossed to his bureau and put the picture of Melody on the camping trip beside the photo of Jake and Elwood. He picked up the engraved mouthpiece and fingered it, wanting Melody to appear and comfort him the way she had when he found out his father had died._

The trumpet player awakened suddenly, unaware that he'd even fallen asleep. The TV was still droning away in the corner and he picked up the remote to turn it off. Melody hadn't moved from her position at all, evidently still sound asleep.

Getting up, he put the remote away, leaned over Melody, then gave her a kiss.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Epilogue

Back in Chicago, the band had a week off to spend time with their families. Alan accompanied Melody to her apartment. He brought in the bags and stood them up in the corner, looking at the old place he'd left so many years ago.

"You've redecorated." instead of the brick walls, she'd had drywall put up and painted it a pastel blue. Melody had steadily upgraded the place over the years, switching to granite countertops in the kitchen, buying an LCD screen TV and splurging on a nicely furnished entertainment center. Alan couldn't see anything that he would recognize easily, as even the curtains had been changed.

"Gotta keep in with the times, Alan." he chuckled and pecked her on the cheek as he opened up the door to the bedroom. Drywall had been installed there too and it was a pale shade of green.

"Come on, you have enough time to unpack your shit later on." Melody plopped on the couch and picked up the remote for the TV. Alan joined her, watching her as she channel surfed for anything interesting on. The photos on the wall had changed, as they were mostly places Melody had been to over the years. There were a few decorative prints of flowers and the like, but the one that was enlarged and stood prominently was a picture of a castle.

"What's that?"

"Huh? Oh, that's Boldt castle in upstate New York. I went up there for a summer touring gig for one of the bands I worked for. I absolutely fell head over heels in love with that place."

"Where is it?"

"Upstate New York in Alexandria Bay. The Thousand Islands region to be more precise."

"On the St. Lawrence river?"

"Yup. I stayed at the Thousand Island House out there. Beautiful region."

"Maybe we'll go sometime." his eyes darted to her sling then up to her face.

Melody smiled. "We damn well better. You'll fall under the spell of that place just like I did, especially if you like boats."

Before Alan could reply, Melody's cell phone rang and she fished it out from her pocket and opened it. "Yeah?"

"Mel? Elwood."

"Hi, Elwood. Everything OK?" Melody's apartment was just 4 blocks away from Mack's. Alan rolled his eyes and sighed, thinking that Elwood was in trouble again. Nothing could keep that man out of prison, he inwardly grunted.

"I'm great. Listen, there were a bunch of studio talent sharks at the battle of the bands and when we got home, Mack discovered a message for us. Turns out these guys want to record us."

"Really? That's great!"

"Marco highly recommended us and they went for it. We're to come to the Birchwood Studio in 2 days to record."

"Do you guys need me there?"

"Hell, yes. You've never been recorded before, so this'll be your first time."

"Yikes!"

"Great, huh? We're brainstorming a song list and we definitely want you on it. Meet us there, Birchwood at 10 AM in 2 days."

"That puts it on Wednesday. All right, I'll tell Mr. Fabulous here and we'll see you then."

"All right. Bye."

"Later, El." she hung up and looked over at her boyfriend. "Well, there's a recording contract in the works. Birchwood on Wednesday at 10 AM."

"You're not shitting me?"

"Nope."

"Great!" Alan gave her a kiss. "No need to get nervous, we've all heard you sing. Give it your all and you will be great." he reassured her.

"So, which car do you want to drive there?" Melody teased, sticking her legs in his lap playfully.

"You don't want to ride in my Accord?" he teased back. Alan had a 1995 Honda Accord that was in great shape.

"No. Come on over to the German side of things. Audis are the future." she mocked, giggling.

"They're German? Man, I'm out of touch."

"You're with me now so you won't be out of touch."

"Touche."

Mack and Mother Mary lost no time in working on the adoption process. Buster was living with him and Elwood now, Mack had already registered him for school and the trio were working on Buster and Elwood's rooms. It was a long and tiring process, but Mary knew several connections in the police and department of health and human services that helped to expidite the procedure.

When the day of recording came around, the band assembled and Melody pulled into the parking lot in her purring Audi. Alan seemed almost baffled by the beguiling car with its sleek lines and richly upholstered interior. Some controls were needlessly complicated but that didn't matter. They got out of the car, Alan picked up his instrument, and then they went into a side room. Elwood handed around the set list and explained to them what was going on so they were all clear. In the recording room, the band got themselves together the best they could while the 4 singers put on their earphones. Melody would be needed along with Buster to provide backup vocals when needed.

Their first song was Rubber Biscuit, a goofy tune that Elwood had the lead on. The horn section provided the vocals along with Melody, Mack and Buster. Next up was Lookin' For A Fox, Cheaper To Keep Her, which Melody provided the solo backup voice on. She tried to make it sound as seductive as possible, imagining her vampy side and matching her tone of voice to it. Riders In the Sky, B-Movie Boxcar Blues, which was a favorite of Melody's, Soul Man, King Bee, I Don't Know, Expressway To Your Heart, Funky Nassau.

"Wow, that's tough shit." Melody sat down when the technician called a break. Buster sat next to her and took a drink from a nearby table. "I never thought I'd be here."

"Wait, Jake and Elwood cut an album before."

"I joined up with them after they got out of Joliet the second time, Buster."

"Oh."

"I wonder when my solo songs are coming up."

"Oh, Elwood says the song What Is Hip is coming up next. He kinda reshuffled the list so you'd be able to sing today solo."

"How nice of him." when their break was over, Melody found herself singing solo with the band backing her up. It gave her a real sense of empowerment like it always did and she broke out in her rich alto voice like a pro. Elwood came in with Mack and Buster after that and they did Everyone Needs Somebody To Love with Melody and Buster on backup vocals. Messin' With The Kid, New Orleans, You Know I'm No Good, and to Melody's surprise, they had included Skyfall. The final song was Love Light and they were done.

Two weeks of putting the album together followed and the band had to pose for photographs for the album sleeve. The 4 singers posed together and with the band, and there was even a shot of Elwood leaning against the Bluesmobile. For some candid shots, Melody and Buster sat down on a table and arm wrestled, the horn section were sitting on the risers and oiling up their instruments, Elwood and Mack were gossiping off to one side.

"This album is gonna rock and roll."

"It's going to hemorrhage black and blue." Mack sat down and stretched out.

One month later, Buster's adoption was finalized and they held a party at the newly rebuilt strip club that hadn't been reopened yet. Mother Mary had been invited, since she took care of Buster up to that point. School had started and Buster was already making progress as a student. Mack and Buster wore their normal clothes, but Elwood would never change out of his suit.

"Oh, I have a promise to keep," Melody remembered. "El, I'm borrowing Buster for about an hour, OK?"

"Where ya headin'?" Elwood was behind the bar getting an education from Mack on how to blend drinks.

"I promised Buster I'd take him to Jake's grave."

"Oh." Elwood nodded. "Gotta get out there myself someday soon."

"Yes indeed." Melody led Buster out of the club and they began to walk.

"How far is it?" the sun was just setting.

"About 4 blocks south." they were there within 10 minutes. Melody pulled out her small flashlight from her pocket and shined it on the nearest road sign. "We need Zion avenue."

"There it is! What color is the stone?"

"It's dark blue." both of them were starting to get edgy in the semidarkness. Melody had not fully recovered from her scare at the LaLaurie house. Her injury had healed, despite some residual soreness.

"I found it!" Melody joined her young friend at the familiar monument. Fifteen years ago they had put Jake to rest and Melody found the memories flooding back. She swiped at her eyes and willed herself to stay in the present time. Buster sensed her discomfort, sliding his hand into hers and squeezing it. BLUES stared back at them through the age, as bright as ever as if it had been sandblasted yesterday. There was no adornment to the grave, no flowers or angel cherubs standing there, though Melody had been tempted to put some on. Alan had told her that they would surely get stolen and she had to agree with him.

"He's right here."

"He's always lookin' out for us, Buster. I heard he liked kids and they liked him right back."

"From all the stories, he seemed like a guy who'd treat kids well."

"He did."

"He saved you, Melody." Buster was still in awe of that story. "I'd never have the guts to do that."

"A lot of people wouldn't have. Jake was something special." she touched her lips to her fingers and put them on the monument. "Love ya always, Jake."

"Mel? Would you say I was nuts if I said I saw Jake in a dream?"

Melody looked down at him. "No. I believe that the departed can visit the living in their dreams. Was he nice?"

"Yeah. I never told Elwood because he's always so sad when I bring up Jake."

"He'll open up and talk about him, Buster. Just give him time."

"OK."

"We should be getting back." Melody turned.

"All right." still with Buster's hand in hers, Melody took one last look at the grave and could have sworn she saw Jake standing there, waving.

END

Stay tuned for part 3, set in the current day (through the magic of fanfiction, their ages are all the same).


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